McMahan v. Grasshopper
CourtArizona Supreme Court
Date FiledJuly 30, 2026
DocketCV-25-0287-PR
StatusPublished
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Full Opinion
IN THE
SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF ARIZONA
BRANDON L. MCMAHAN, AN INDIVIDUAL,
Petitioner,
v.
GRASSHOPPER TRANS, INC., AN ILLINOIS CORPORATION.,
Respondent.
No. CV-25-0287-PR
Filed July 30, 2026
Petition for Special Action from the Superior Court in Maricopa County
The Honorable Christopher Whitten, Judge
The Honorable Richard Albrecht, Commissioner
No. CV2024-003517
AFFIRMED
Opinion of the Court of Appeals,
Division One
260 Ariz. 521 (App. 2025)
VACATED
COUNSEL:
Sean P. Healy, Kristian E. Nelson (argued), Joseph Hubble, Lewis Brisbois
Bisgaard & Smith LLP, Phoenix, Attorneys for Grasshopper Trans, Inc.
David L. Abney (argued), Ahwatukee Legal Office, P.C., Phoenix; and
Isidore Yetnikoff, Yetnikoff Law Offices, PLLC, Scottsdale, Attorneys for
Brandon L. McMahan
McMAHAN V. GRASSHOPPER
Opinion of the Court
CHIEF JUSTICE TIMMER authored the Opinion of the Court, in which
VICE CHIEF JUSTICE LOPEZ, JUSTICES BOLICK, BEENE,
MONTGOMERY, KING, and CRUZ joined.
CHIEF JUSTICE TIMMER, Opinion of the Court:
¶1 Brandon L. McMahan did not properly serve the summons
and complaint in his personal injury action against Grasshopper Trans, Inc.
(“Grasshopper”). Before Grasshopper appeared in the action, McMahan
obtained an entry of default. We consider whether Grasshopper’s conduct
after the default was entered waived the service defect as a basis for setting
it aside. We hold that it did not.
BACKGROUND
¶2 In February 2023, a tractor trailer collided with safety
barricades at a construction site and drove away. The barricades struck
and injured McMahan, who was working at the site. The following year,
McMahan sued the tractor trailer’s owner, Grasshopper, an Illinois
corporation, seeking damages for the driver’s negligence.
¶3 On March 6, 2024, McMahan attempted to serve
Grasshopper’s Illinois-based statutory agent, Ljubisa Srejovic, by leaving a
copy of the complaint with his assistant, Sladana Bojic, at Srejovic’s office.
Bojic sent the complaint to Grasshopper that day. But Bojic was not
authorized to accept service on Grasshopper’s behalf.
¶4 On April 15, 2024, McMahan applied for entry of default
pursuant to Arizona Rule of Civil Procedure 55 because Grasshopper failed
to file an answer or otherwise respond to the complaint. Grasshopper did
not respond within the applicable period, and the default purportedly
became effective on April 29. See Ariz. R. Civ. P. 55(a)(1) (providing that
the entry of default becomes effective ten days after the application is filed
unless the defendant files a pleading or otherwise defends against the
complaint); Ariz. R. Civ. P. 6(a)(2) (excluding intermediate Saturdays,
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McMAHAN V. GRASSHOPPER
Opinion of the Court
Sundays, and legal holidays for computing time periods less than eleven
days).
¶5 On May 21, McMahan moved for entry of default judgment.
Several weeks later, on June 11, Grasshopper answered the complaint and
denied owning the tractor trailer that hit the barricades. Grasshopper
raised insufficiency of service of process as a potential affirmative defense,
depending on further factual development.
¶6 On July 9 and again on August 21, Grasshopper
unsuccessfully moved to set aside the entry of default under Rules 55(c) and
60(b)(1), respectively. See Ariz. R. Civ. P. 55(c) (authorizing a court to set
aside an entry of default for good cause); Ariz. R. Civ. P. 60(b)(1)
(authorizing relief from an order based on excusable neglect). Notably,
Grasshopper repeatedly acknowledged in these filings that it had been
“served” on March 6.
¶7 On February 19, 2025, Grasshopper moved for
reconsideration, arguing for the first time that McMahan’s failure to
properly serve the complaint constituted good cause to set aside the entry
of default under Rule 55(c). At the superior court’s direction, Grasshopper
recast its motion as one under Rule 60(b)(4), which authorizes relief from a
void judgment, even though a judgment had not yet been entered. The
court granted the Rule 60(b)(4) motion and vacated the entry of default. It
reasoned that because McMahan had not properly served Grasshopper, the
entry of default was void, and Grasshopper neither had nor could have
waived its challenge to the order.
¶8 The court of appeals accepted special action jurisdiction and
granted relief, vacating the superior court’s order granting the Rule 60(b)(4)
motion. See McMahan v. Grasshopper Trans, Inc., 260 Ariz. 521, 529 ¶ 36
(App. 2025). It concluded that Grasshopper waived its objection to
defective service by failing to raise it in a motion to dismiss or in its answer,
voluntarily appearing in the action, and repeatedly acknowledging that it
had been served. See id. at 525 ¶ 20, 526–27 ¶¶ 24–25. The court
recognized that, “even after a judgment becomes final, a party may
‘challenge a judgment on the ground that it is void for lack of jurisdiction
of the parties.’” Id. at 527 ¶ 29 (quoting Preston v. Denkins, 94 Ariz. 214, 219
(1963)). But it concluded that the entry of default was not void for lack of
personal jurisdiction. See id. ¶¶ 29–30. In the court’s view, Grasshopper
waived its jurisdictional defense by appearing and defending the action
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McMAHAN V. GRASSHOPPER
Opinion of the Court
without first raising the insufficient service defense. See id. The court
also reasoned that Grasshopper had held Bojic out as authorized to accept
service by repeatedly representing to the superior court that McMahan had
served the complaint through Bojic on March 6, 2024. See id.
¶9 We granted Grasshopper’s petition for review to decide
whether it waived the right to challenge the entry of default under the
circumstances here, an issue of statewide importance. We have
jurisdiction pursuant to article 6, section 5(3) of the Arizona Constitution.
DISCUSSION
¶10 We review a ruling on a motion to set aside an entry of default
for an abuse of discretion. See DeHoney v. Hernandez, 122 Ariz. 367, 371
(1979). But we review de novo all legal questions encompassed within
that ruling, including whether the court acquired personal jurisdiction
before entering the default, whether Grasshopper waived its objection
concerning service of process, and whether the superior court’s entry of
default constituted a void order. See 4QTKIDZ, LLC v. HNT Holdings, LLC,
253 Ariz. 382, 385 ¶ 5 (2022); Ruffino v. Lokosky, 245 Ariz. 165, 168 ¶¶ 9–10
(App. 2018); In re 2000 Peterbilt Tractor & Trailer, WA LIC: 19601RP, VIN:
1XPSD69X2YD479117, 240 Ariz. 450, 452 ¶ 6 (App. 2016). We accept the
court’s factual findings unless they are clearly erroneous. See Ruffino,
245 Ariz. at 168 ¶ 9.
A. McMahan Did Not Properly Serve The Summons
And Complaint On Grasshopper
¶11 McMahan was required to serve the summons and complaint
on Grasshopper by delivering a copy to “a managing or general agent, or
any other agent authorized by appointment or by law to receive service of
process.” See Ariz. R. Civ. P. 4.2(h) (governing service on a corporation
located in the United States but outside Arizona). His process server
attempted to serve Grasshopper’s statutory agent, Srejovic, but instead
delivered the documents to her assistant, Bojic. According to an affidavit
signed by Grasshopper’s owner and managing principal, Bojic was not an
officer, director, or managing agent of Grasshopper; Grasshopper had not
appointed her to accept service on its behalf; and Grasshopper had not held
her out as authorized to do so. Rather, Srejovic alone served as
Grasshopper’s statutory agent.
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McMAHAN V. GRASSHOPPER
Opinion of the Court
¶12 McMahan concedes he did not properly serve Grasshopper
on March 6, 2024, by delivering the summons and complaint to Bojic, and
we agree. As Grasshopper’s registered statutory agent, Srejovic was
authorized to accept service on its behalf. See A.R.S. § 10-1510(A).
Nothing in the record establishes that Bojic was Grasshopper’s actual or
apparent agent for purposes of accepting service. See Ariz. R. Civ. P.
4.2(h); Koven v. Saberdyne Sys., Inc., 128 Ariz. 318, 322 (App. 1980)
(recognizing that an agent authorized by law to receive service of process
may include an ostensible or apparent agent). Because Bojic lacked either
actual or apparent authority to accept service, delivering the summons and
complaint to her did not constitute service on Grasshopper under Rule
4.2(h). See Postal Instant Press, Inc. v. Corral Rests., Inc., 186 Ariz. 535, 537
(1996) (requiring strict compliance with service rules). This is so even
though Bojic forwarded the documents to Grasshopper. See Falcon ex rel.
Sandoval v. Maricopa County, 213 Ariz. 525, 530 ¶ 27 (2006) (concluding that
delivering a notice of claim to one member of the board of supervisors was
not service on the board even though the member forwarded such claims
to the clerk of the board).
B. The Superior Court Lacked Personal Jurisdiction
Over Grasshopper When The Default Became
Effective, Making That Order Void From The Outset
¶13 The superior court acquired personal jurisdiction over
Grasshopper only if McMahan properly served it, Grasshopper consented
to jurisdiction, or it made a general appearance in the case—for example,
by answering the complaint without raising an insufficient service defense.
See Montano v. Scottsdale Baptist Hosp., Inc., 119 Ariz. 448, 452 (1978); State ex
rel. Dep’t of Econ. Sec. v. Burton, 205 Ariz. 27, 29 ¶ 8 (App. 2003). “A general
appearance is a waiver of notice and if a party appears in person or by
attorney he submits himself to the jurisdiction of the court.” Montano,
119 Ariz. at 452 (quoting Lonning v. Lonning, 199 N.W.2d 60, 62 (Iowa
1972)).
¶14 As explained, McMahan did not properly serve Grasshopper.
And although Grasshopper eventually appeared in the case, it did not do
so until June 11, 2024, when it filed its answer. Thus, when the default
became effective on April 29, 2024, under Rule 55(a)(1), the superior court
had not yet acquired personal jurisdiction over Grasshopper because
Grasshopper had not been properly served, consented to jurisdiction, or
appeared in the action. See id.; Burton, 205 Ariz. at 29 ¶ 8; see also Postal
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McMAHAN V. GRASSHOPPER
Opinion of the Court
Instant Press, Inc., 186 Ariz. at 537 (“[A]s long as service remains incomplete,
or is defective, the court never acquires jurisdiction.”).
¶15 Because the superior court lacked personal jurisdiction over
Grasshopper when the default became effective, the entry of default was
void from the outset. See Shinn v. Ariz. Bd. of Exec. Clemency, 254 Ariz. 255,
262 ¶ 27 (2022) (explaining that a judgment or order is void, rather than
merely voidable, when the court lacks jurisdiction over the affected
persons); Lore v. Citizens Bank of Winslow, 51 Ariz. 191, 194 (1938) (“It being
admitted that there was no service of process and no appearance by the
defendant, the judgment was absolutely void.”); Gordon v. Gordon, 35 Ariz.
357, 368 (1929) (stating that when a court’s jurisdiction rests on defective
service, later proceedings based on that service are void). A void
judgment or order has no legal effect, and a court must vacate it when an
affected party seeks relief. See Springfield Credit Union v. Johnson, 123 Ariz.
319, 323 n.5 (1979); Preston, 94 Ariz. at 219; Hughes v. Indus. Comm’n, 69 Ariz.
193, 197 (1949); Gordon, 35 Ariz. at 368; Ruffino, 245 Ariz. at 168–69 ¶ 10;
Austin v. State ex rel. Herman, 10 Ariz. App. 474, 476 (1969). This is so even
if the party unreasonably delays in asking for relief. See Ruffino, 245 Ariz.
at 168–69 ¶ 10.
¶16 McMahan nevertheless argues that Grasshopper waived its
right to challenge the entry of default by (1) failing to immediately raise the
insufficient service defense in a Rule 12(b)(5) motion to dismiss or in its
answer, (2) generally appearing and defending the claim, and
(3) repeatedly telling the superior court over several months that it had
been served. The court of appeals agreed. See McMahan, 260 Ariz.
at 525–27 ¶¶ 18–28. We do not.
1. Grasshopper’s Actions And Inaction After Entry Of
Default Could Not And Did Not Validate The Void
Entry Of Default
¶17 Before addressing McMahan’s arguments individually, we
identify a flaw common to each: the premise that an affected party’s later
conduct or inaction can validate a previous default order that was void
when entered. It cannot.
¶18 Our decision in Lore, which the court of appeals did not cite,
is instructive. There, a judgment creditor obtained an order requiring a
debtor, Lore, to appear for what is now referred to as a debtor’s examination
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McMAHAN V. GRASSHOPPER
Opinion of the Court
so the creditor could find assets to satisfy its judgment against Lore. See
Lore, 51 Ariz. at 193, 194–95. But Lore had neither been served nor
appeared in the proceeding before the judgment was entered. See id.
at 193. We therefore held that the resulting judgment was “absolutely
void” for lack of jurisdiction, and the superior court was “wrong in refusing
to vacate the judgment in order that the defendant might be heard on the
merits of the case.” See id. at 194, 197.
¶19 The Court also found that Lore generally appeared in the
debtor’s examination proceeding by moving to quash the order for his
examination, vacate the judgment, and dismiss the action. See id.
at 196–97. Consequently, we concluded that Lore waived any challenges
regarding possible defects in the creditor’s post-judgment affidavit, which
avowed that a writ of execution on the debtor’s leviable property had
issued but was returned as unsatisfied. 1 See id. at 195. But importantly,
Lore’s appearance did not retroactively cure the void default judgment
underlying that proceeding. See id. at 194. To the contrary, we explained
that “[a]ppearance after such a judgment is entered against a party, whether
general or special, will not cure a want of jurisdiction as to the judgment
previously obtained.” Id. at 194 (adding that “[a] party does not waive the
question of jurisdiction or validate a void judgment by a general
appearance in support of a motion to set the judgement aside”).
¶20 McMahan misreads Lore’s discussion of Lore’s appearance in
the debtor-examination proceedings as holding that a defendant’s later
general appearance, whenever made, retroactively validates an earlier
default entered without jurisdiction. But Lore forecloses, rather than
supports, that conclusion. The waiver recognized in Lore operated
prospectively, applying only to the affidavit and execution that remained
before the court in the debtor examination proceeding. See id. It did
not—and, under Lore’s express holding, could not—supply the jurisdiction
the court lacked when it entered the earlier judgment. See id. A general
appearance submits a party to the court’s jurisdiction from that point
1 Since Lore, this Court promulgated Rule 12(b), which authorizes parties
to present jurisdictional defenses or objections by motion or pleading
without submitting themselves to the court’s jurisdiction. Thus, Lore’s
conclusion that moving to vacate a judgment or dismiss an action for lack
of jurisdiction submits the moving party to the court’s jurisdiction is no
longer valid. See D. W. Onan & Sons, Inc. v. Superior Court, 65 Ariz. 255,
258–59, 261 (1947) (noting that Rule 12(b) superseded Lore on this point).
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McMAHAN V. GRASSHOPPER
Opinion of the Court
forward; it does not reach backward to “unvoid” an order that was void
upon entry. See id.
¶21 That principle governs here. The default against
Grasshopper became effective on April 29, 2024. Grasshopper did not
appear in any form until six weeks later, on June 11, 2024, when it filed its
answer. Thereafter, it defended the complaint on its merits. Whatever
legal effect Grasshopper’s answer and litigation defense had, it only
operated from June 11 forward. It could not cure a default that was void
the moment it was entered. We apply that principle to each of McMahan’s
waiver arguments below.
2. Grasshopper Did Not Waive Its Challenge To The
Entry Of Default By Failing To First Raise It In A
Rule 12(b)(5) Motion Or Its Answer
¶22 Rule 12(b)(5) authorizes a defendant to file a motion to
dismiss a complaint for insufficient service of process. Ariz. R. Civ. P.
12(b)(5). To avoid waiving this defense, the defendant must either file a
Rule 12(b)(5) motion or include the defense in a “responsive pleading.”
Ariz. R. Civ. P. 12(b), (h)(1)(B). And if the defendant does file a Rule 12(b)
motion but omits insufficient service as a basis for dismissal, the defendant
waives the right to raise that defense in a later motion. Ariz. R. Civ. P.
12(g)(2), (h)(1)(A).
¶23 The court of appeals concluded that Grasshopper waived its
insufficient service defense because it neither filed a Rule 12(b)(5) motion
nor properly asserted the defense in its answer. See McMahan, 260 Ariz.
at 525–26 ¶ 20. The court relied on Montano, where we held that the
defendants waived an insufficient service defense by first answering the
complaint on the merits without raising it and then asserting it in a later
motion. See McMahan, 260 Ariz. at 526 ¶ 20. Because answering
constituted a general appearance, the defendants there voluntarily
submitted themselves to the court’s jurisdiction. See Montano, 119 Ariz.
at 452.
¶24 We need not decide whether Grasshopper properly preserved
its insufficient-service defense in its June 11, 2024 answer under Rule
12(h)(1)(B). We also do not have to decide whether the answer constituted
a “responsive pleading” under Rule 12(h)(1)(B)(ii) or if Grasshopper could
have filed a Rule 12(b)(5) motion before the court set aside the entry of
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McMAHAN V. GRASSHOPPER
Opinion of the Court
default. See Tarr v. Superior Court, 142 Ariz. 349, 351 (1984) (stating that
“[w]hen a default is entered, a defaulted party loses all rights to litigate the
merits of the cause of action,” but can participate prospectively in the
default judgment proceedings); Martin v. Sears, 45 Ariz. 414, 419 (1935) (“So
long as parties are in default, they have no right to participate in any further
proceedings in the case, except a motion to set aside the default and petition
for leave to appear and answer, or some similar matter not going to
plaintiff’s right of action.”); Ariz. R. Civ. P. 55(a)(1) (placing the time for
filing a “responsive pleading” for “within 10 days after the application for
entry of default is filed”). Even if Grasshopper’s answer was a
“responsive pleading” but did not preserve the issue and a Rule 12(b)(5)
motion was possible, any resulting waiver would operate only from
June 11, 2024, forward. See supra ¶¶ 17–21. It could not retroactively
validate the entry of default that had already become void six weeks earlier;
and Montano, which did not address post-default conduct as a basis for
waiver, did not say otherwise. See 119 Ariz. at 452. Rule 12(h)’s
forfeiture provisions govern the availability of a defense going forward;
they cannot reach back to supply jurisdiction the court lacked at the
moment it acted. See Preston, 94 Ariz. at 219 (explaining that relief from a
void judgment “does not depend upon rules of the court or statute”).
3. Grasshopper’s General Appearance Did Not Waive
The Jurisdictional Defect
¶25 McMahan alternatively argues that, even if Rule 12(h) does
not apply, Grasshopper waived the insufficient-service defense through the
older common law doctrine that a general appearance submits a defendant
to the court’s jurisdiction. The court of appeals agreed, relying on
Montano’s statement that “[t]he appearance of the defendants has the same
effect as a timely and valid service of process.” See McMahan, 260 Ariz.
at 526 ¶ 23 (quoting Montano, 119 Ariz. at 452).
¶26 The common law doctrine, like Rule 12(h)’s forfeiture
provisions, operates only prospectively. See supra ¶¶ 17–21. Even
assuming Grasshopper’s answer and subsequent filings amounted to a
general appearance, that appearance came six weeks after the default that
was void from the outset. Under the principle already explained, that
sequence forecloses the waiver McMahan and the court of appeals draw
from it. Grasshopper’s appearance submitted it to the court’s jurisdiction
from that point forward; it did not validate the entry of default that
preceded it. See supra ¶¶ 17–21.
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McMAHAN V. GRASSHOPPER
Opinion of the Court
¶27 McMahan and the court of appeals cite federal decisions for
the opposite conclusion. See McMahan, 260 Ariz. at 528–29 ¶¶ 32–35. Of
those, only one addresses a case where a court found that a defendant
waived an insufficient-service challenge to a default judgment through
conduct occurring after the default was entered. In Trustees of Central
Laborers’ Welfare Fund v. Lowery, the Seventh Circuit held that a district court
did not err in finding that the defendants had waived their challenge to a
default judgment for insufficient service, where the defendants had
repeatedly participated in post-judgment collection proceedings. 924 F.2d
731, 733–34 (7th Cir. 1991). Lowery applied a flexible, circumstance-
dependent standard, concluding that “[j]ust as a defendant may waive a
defense of improper service under Rule 12(b)(5) before entry of judgment,
so too can a defendant waive the defense at a later time given the
appropriate circumstances.” Id. at 733.
¶28 Other federal courts have applied a more categorical
standard. See, e.g., Textile Banking Co. v. Rentschler, 657 F.2d 844, 850
(7th Cir. 1981) (holding that a trial court lacks discretion to vacate a default
judgment under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 60(b) where the court “was
powerless to enter the judgment in the first instance,” including for lack of
personal jurisdiction); Recreational Props., Inc. v. Sw. Mortg. Serv. Corp.,
804 F.2d 311, 314 (5th Cir. 1986) (“If a court lacks jurisdiction over the
parties because of insufficient service of process, the judgment is void and
the district court must set it aside.”).
¶29 Arizona’s rule tracks the categorical approach: once an order
is shown void for lack of jurisdiction, “the court has no such discretion but
must vacate the judgment.” Preston, 94 Ariz. at 219; see also Gordon,
35 Ariz. at 368; Springfield Credit Union, 123 Ariz. at 323 n.5; Hughes, 69 Ariz.
at 197; Ruffino, 245 Ariz. at 168–69 ¶ 10; Austin, 10 Ariz. App. at 476.
Although Arizona courts give weight to federal interpretations of
analogous procedural rules, see Sholem v. Gass, 248 Ariz. 281, 286 ¶ 19 (2020),
federal authority cannot override controlling Arizona Supreme Court
precedent, see Sell v. Gama, 231 Ariz. 323, 330 ¶ 31 (2013); Weatherford ex rel.
Michael L. v. State, 206 Ariz. 529, 532–33 ¶¶ 8–9 (2003) (“[S]tate courts are
not bound by decisions of federal circuit courts . . . .”).
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McMAHAN V. GRASSHOPPER
Opinion of the Court
4. Grasshopper Did Not Waive Its Challenge By
Repeatedly Acknowledging It Had Been Served
¶30 McMahan argues, and the court of appeals agreed, that
Grasshopper waived its challenge by telling the court several times that it
had been served process. See McMahan, 260 Ariz. at 527 ¶ 28. The court
distinguished Preston, which held that even after a final judgment a party
may “challenge a judgment on the ground that it is void for lack of
jurisdiction of the parties.” See id. ¶ 29 (quoting Preston, 94 Ariz. at 219).
It reasoned that the entry of default was not void in the first place, because
Grasshopper had held Bojic out to McMahan and the superior court as
authorized to accept service. Id. at 527–28 ¶¶ 29–31. Under that view,
Grasshopper had no valid jurisdictional objection for Preston to protect.
See id. ¶ 31.
¶31 Although the court of appeals did not use the term, its holding
depends on the doctrine of apparent authority. But that doctrine, properly
applied, does not support the court’s conclusion. Courts measure
apparent authority, like actual authority, at the time of the alleged reliance.
See Koven, 128 Ariz. at 322 (explaining that apparent authority requires both
a representation by the principal that another is its agent and justifiable
reliance on that representation). The relevant moment here was March 6,
2024, when McMahan attempted service. Nothing in the record shows
that Grasshopper had represented to McMahan, his process server, or the
public by that date that Bojic was authorized to accept service on its behalf.
Grasshopper’s later statements to the superior court that it had been
“served” on March 6 came months afterward and after the default had
become effective. Those statements, therefore, could not have induced
McMahan or his process server to rely on Bojic’s apparent authority on a
day that had already passed. Whatever else they show, they cannot
retroactively create an appearance of authority that did not exist when
service was attempted.
¶32 Because Grasshopper never held Bojic out as authorized to
accept service at the only time that could matter, the entry of default was
void for the same reason explained above, see supra ¶¶ 13–21, and
Grasshopper’s later statements do not change that. The court of appeals’
contrary conclusion depends entirely on treating those later statements as
if they operated retroactively, which is the same error addressed
throughout this opinion. See supra ¶¶ 17–21, 25–26.
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Opinion of the Court
¶33 The court of appeals’ reasoning also inverts Preston’s rule.
Preston and the cases on which it relies do not ask whether a party’s later
conduct is consistent with asserting a jurisdictional defect. They ask
whether jurisdiction existed when the court acted. If it did not, “every act
theretofore or thereafter performed based upon it is void and without
effect.” Preston, 94 Ariz. at 220 (quoting Gordon, 35 Ariz. at 368). Lore
states the same principle from the opposite direction: a later appearance
“will not cure a want of jurisdiction as to the [order] previously obtained.”
51 Ariz. at 194; see also Gordon, 35 Ariz. at 370 (agreeing that defendants’
general appearance brought them before the court for future proceedings
without new process but did not retroactively validate the void judgment
previously entered without jurisdiction); Ruffino, 245 Ariz. at 168–69 ¶ 10
(stating that a court must vacate a judgment or order entered without
proper service, even when the party seeking relief unreasonably delayed
doing so). Preston’s holding cannot be avoided by relying on
Grasshopper’s acknowledgments of proper service because they had no
bearing on the validity of service at the time it was made.
¶34 In sum, whether the default was valid depends on the
jurisdictional facts as they existed when it became effective on April 29,
2024, not on anything Grasshopper did or said afterward. The superior
court correctly set aside the default because it lacked personal jurisdiction
over Grasshopper at the time of entry.2
2 The superior court incorrectly directed Grasshopper to recast its motion
as one under Rule 60(b)(4). Rule 55(c) provides that a court may set aside
an entry of default for “good cause” and may set aside a default judgment
under Rule 60(b). Here, the court had entered a default but had not
entered a default judgment. Consequently, the court should have
evaluated Grasshopper’s motion under Rule 55(c)’s “good cause” standard,
not Rule 60(b)(4)’s standard for relief from a void judgment. That
imprecision does not affect our analysis. A court confronted with an order
entered without jurisdiction has no discretion to leave it in place, whether
the standard is framed as “good cause” under Rule 55(c) or as relief from a
void judgment under Rule 60(b)(4). See Preston, 94 Ariz. at 219. We treat
Grasshopper’s motion as one properly brought, and properly granted,
under Rule 55(c).
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Opinion of the Court
CONCLUSION
¶35 The court of appeals erred by reversing the superior court’s
order setting aside the entry of default. Thus, we vacate the court of
appeals’ opinion and reinstate the superior court’s order granting
Grasshopper’s motion to vacate the entry of default.
13