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Court power over defendants

Richardson v. United States

Updated Nov 11, 2026

In brief

Where it stands
Petition Pending

Awaiting an order on the petition

No decision timeline until the Court agrees to hear the case.

What it’s about
David Richardson asks the Supreme Court to review the dismissal of his complaint with prejudice for improper service and the Third Circuit’s decision upholding denial of relief under Rule 60(b)(4) (a rule for setting aside an invalid judgment).
What's at stake
Richardson’s petition leaves unresolved whether he can get the judgment set aside and whether the Third Circuit could rely on legal grounds he says neither side raised.

Summary: written with AI from the case record.

What it's about

He argues the appeals court relied on grounds neither side raised without giving him a chance to respond.

Richardson argues that because the district court found service insufficient and lacked authority over him, its dismissal should not have been with prejudice.

Question presented

1. Whether a district court dismiss a complaint with prejudice pursuant to Rule 12(b)(5) , after concluding that service of process was insufficient and the court therefore never acquired personal juridiction over the defendant! notwithstanding this Court's repeated holdings that a judgment entered without personal jurisdiction is void and subject to relief under Rule 60(b)(4)to address those , as well as the Third Circuit's own Precedent and every circuit court of appeals to consider the matter have held that a judgment entered without personal juridiction is void and subject to Rul;e 60(b)(4) relief. 2. Whether a court of appeals exeeds the limits imposd by the "party presentation principle" and the Due Process Clause by affirming the denial of Rule 60(b)(4) relief on legal theories raised sua sponte , after first concluding that Petitioner's Rule 60(b)(4) argument was meritless , without notice , or an opportunity to adddress those newly raised theories. 3. Whether appellate review of a Rule 60(b)(4) motion is confined to determining whether the challenged judgment is void for lack of personal jurisdiction over the defendant , or whether a court of appeals may instead affirm by conducting an independent merits review unrelated to the jurisdictional issue presented.

What happens next

The Court must decide whether to hear the case. No oral argument is scheduled, and no decision date is available.

Documents

1

Docket activity

5
  • New analysis added

    Nov 11, 2026 · Court records

  • AI analysis generated: Case Briefing

    Nov 11, 2026 · Generated

  • Case data updated: summary, question_presented, generation_metadata

    Nov 11, 2026 · Court records

  • Case data updated: question_presented, extraction_metadata

    Nov 11, 2026 · Court records

  • Brief added: Petition

    Aug 4, 2026 · Court records

More questions

1
What does Richardson say the Third Circuit did wrong?
He argues it relied on legal grounds neither side raised and gave him no chance to answer them.

Sources

Primary materials plus reporting. Best-effort analysis: this explainer relies on a mix of primary materials and trusted secondary sources. Official filings and opinions remain authoritative.

Checked Nov 11, 2026Methodology

Court records and filings

Reporting and analysis