UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF WISCONSIN

MILWAUKEE DIVISION
WILLIAM SCHMALFELDT,
Case No. 2:15-cv-01516-NJ
Plaintiff,
v.
SARAH PALMER, ET AL.,
Defendants.
DEFENDANT PALMERS OPPOSITION TO THE PLAINTIFFS MOTION TO SHOW
CAUSE (ECF NO. 8)
NOW COMES Defendant Sarah Palmer, by her counsel Aaron J. Walker, Esq., in the
above-styled case for the sole purpose of filing this Opposition to the Plaintiffs Motion to Show
Cause (hereinafter MSCO) (ECF No. 8), without waiving any rights of jurisdiction, notice,
process, service of process, joinder, or venue, and states the following:
1.

Before a person can be found in contempt, it must first be established that this

Court has obtained personal jurisdiction over him or her. It is elementary that [j]urisdiction is
the power of the court to decide a matter in controversy, and presupposes the existence of a duly
constituted court with control over the subject matter and the parties. Pinner v. Pinner, 33
N.C.App. 204, 206 (1977).
2.

Whether this Court has jurisdiction over a defendant is governed by Fed. R. Civ.

P. 4(k)(1) which states in relevant part:

(1)

In General. Serving a summons or filing a waiver of service establishes

personal jurisdiction over a defendant:

Case 2:15-cv-01516-NJ Filed 03/01/16 Page 1 of 5 Document 14

(A)

who is subject to the jurisdiction of a court of general jurisdiction

in the state where the district court is located[.]

There has been no proper service of process, and there has been no waiver. Therefore, there can
be no contempt because this Court had not established control over Mrs. Palmer because of the
Plaintiffs failure to properly serve her. 1
3.

The Plaintiffs sole attempt to assert that he had completed service of process is

found in paragraph 6 of his MSCO, where he claims to have personally served Mrs. Palmer by
mail as follows: [a]ccording to the U.S. Postal Service, Defendant Palmer received and accepted
her service packet from Plaintiff on December 28, 2015.

(Exhibit 1). (emphasis added).

However, this is forbidden under Rule 4(c)(2), which states that the parties cannot personally
carry out service of process as follows: [a]ny person who is at least 18 years old and not a party
may serve a summons and complaint (emphasis added). Because the Plaintiff sent this service
personally, this attempted service is a nullity. Indeed, the Plaintiffs attempted service on
February 13, 2016, is a silent confession that he knew he didnt serve Mrs. Palmer correctly the
first time.
4.

Further, if one examines Exhibit 1, it does not establish that Sarah Palmer actually

received it. First, Exhibit 1 has clearly been altered to an unknown degree. Second, even if one
recovers the tracking data from the USPS website (removing the Plaintiffs alterations) one is
still left only with a statement that it was delivered to some unknown address in Reidsville,
North Carolinanot necessarily Mrs. Palmers house. Third, the same Exhibit 1 doesnt state
that the mail was sent restricted delivery; therefore, even if it was sent to Mrs. Palmers home,
there was no guarantee that it would have been received by Mrs. Palmer.
1

Further, Mrs. Palmer has also contested whether this Court could exercise personal jurisdiction
over her. See the Joint Motion To Dismiss Under Rule 12(b)(1), (2), and (5), and Opposition to
Leave to Amend filed simultaneously with this opposition, on pages 5-14.
2
Case 2:15-cv-01516-NJ Filed 03/01/16 Page 2 of 5 Document 14

5.

Furthermore, Mrs. Palmer had a good reason to ignore any and all mail from the

Plaintiff. Attached as Exhibit A is a true and correct copy of a No Contact Order for Stalking or
Non-Consensual Sexual Contact (hereinafter the No Contact Order) issued in order to protect
Mrs. Palmer from the Plaintiff. It forbade (in part) the instant Plaintiff from contacting Mrs.
Palmer by telephone, written communication, or electronic means. 2 The existence of this
order shows that Mrs. Palmer had a very good reason for disregarding mailed communications
from the Plaintiff.
6.

Indeed, as pointed out in the Joint Motion To Dismiss Under Rule 12(b)(1), (2),

and (5), and Opposition to Leave to Amend, 3 the Plaintiff still hasnt properly served Mrs.
Palmer. Not only did he fail to serve a copy of the original complaint, but he failed to serve
either Mr. Johnson or Mrs. Palmer with a copy of the Consent to Proceed Before a Magistrate
Judge form when he attempted service.

However, in the name of judicial efficiency,

Defendants Palmer and Johnson have filed their Consent to Proceed Before a Magistrate Judge
forms as downloaded by counsel. This is done by Defendants Johnson and Palmer without
waiving any rights of jurisdiction, notice, process, service of process, joinder, or venue.
7.

In summary, because the Plaintiff has failed to properly serve Mrs. Palmer there is

no cause to believe she is in contempt of this Courts orders.

WHEREFORE, this Court should deny the Plaintiffs motion for a show cause order because, to
this day, Defendant Palmer has never been properly served in this case.
2

What is attached is a non-certified copy of No Contact Order. In compliance with this Courts
Electronic Case Filing Policies and Procedures Manuel, counsel has retained certified copy of
this No Contact Order in his records and will provide it to this Court if there is any question of
the authenticity of the attached document.
3
This opposition was filed simultaneously with the Joint Motion To Dismiss Under Rule
12(b)(1), (2), and (5), and Opposition to Leave to Amend.
3
Case 2:15-cv-01516-NJ Filed 03/01/16 Page 3 of 5 Document 14

Tuesday, March 1, 2016

Respectfully submitted,
s/ Aaron J. Walker
Aaron J. Walker, Esq.
Attorney for Defendants Johnson and Palmer
Va Bar# 48882
DC Bar #481668
P.O. Box 3075
Manassas, Virginia 20108
(703) 216-0455
(No fax)
AaronJW1972@gmail.com

VERIFICATION
I, Aaron Walker, state under penalty of perjury under the laws of the United States of
America that the foregoing is true and correct and that all exhibits are true and correct copies of
the originals.
Executed on Tuesday, March 1, 2016.
s/ Aaron J. Walker

CIVIL L. R. 7(A)(2) CERTIFICATION

In compliance with Civil L. R. 7(a)(2), I certify that no separate supporting memorandum
or other supporting papers will be filed in relation to this motion.

4
Case 2:15-cv-01516-NJ Filed 03/01/16 Page 4 of 5 Document 14

CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE
I certify that on the 1st day of March, 2016, I served copies of this document on William
Schmalfeldt at 3209 S. Lake Drive, Apt. 108, St. Francis, Wisconsin 53235 by mail.

s/ Aaron J. Walker

5
Case 2:15-cv-01516-NJ Filed 03/01/16 Page 5 of 5 Document 14

EXHmITA

Case 2:15-cv-01516-NJ Filed 03/01/16 Page 1 of 3 Document 14-1

STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA

_ _ _ _R_O_C_K_IN_G_H_A_M

15 CVD 2054
In The General Court Of Justice
District Court Division

County

Name And Address Of Plaintiff

__

SARAH ROSE PALMER

50 I REDD STREET
REIDSVILLE

NC

J
NO-CONTACT ORDER
FOR STALKING OR

27320

VERSUS

NONCONSENSUAL SEXUAL CONDUCT

Name And Address Of Defendant

WILLIAM M SCHMALFELDT
3209 S LAKE DRIVE # 108

STFRANCIS

G.S.50C-7

53235
FINDINGS

This matter was heard by the undersigned district court jUdge, the court has jurisdiction o,'er the parties and subject matter, and the
defendant has been proviaed notice of the hearing.
The Court hereby finds that:

IfS

1. (If this block is checked, skip to the Order portion of the Order.) This Order is entered by default for the remedy sought in the complaint
file an answer
appear at this hearing
and the allegations in the complaint are
because the defendant failed to
sufficient to justify a no-contact order for stalking or nonconsensual sexual conduct.
2. Present at the hearing were:
the plaintiff, represented by
_

o
0
o the defendant, represented by
o 3. The plaintiff has suffered unlawful conduct by the defendant in that:

o 4. Other:

CONCLUSIONS

o 1. The defendant committed acts of unlawful conduct against the plaintiff.

o 2. The plaintiff has failed to prove grounds for issuance of a no-contact order.
ORDER
It is ORDERED that:
1. The defendant shall not visit, assault, molest, or otherwise interfere with the plaintiff.
2. The defendant cease stalking the plaintiff.
3. The defendant cease harassment of the plaintiff.
4. The defendant not abuse or injure the plaintiff.

5. The defendant not contact the plaintiff by telephone, written communication, or electrcihic means.
6. The defendant not enter or remain present at the plaintiffs residence, place of employment, and other places listed below at times
when the plaintiff is present.
List Other Places Where Defendant Ordered Not To Be

(Over)
AOC-CV-524, Rev. 10/15
2015 Administrative Office of the Courts

Case 2:15-cv-01516-NJ Filed 03/01/16 Page 2 of 3 Document 14-1

7. Other: (specify)

rAJ! one (1) year from the date of this Order.

8. The terms of this Order shall be effective until

D (specify date and time if less than one year)

9. The Order is denied and the case is dismissed.

I
Name Of D1ct Court Judge (type or print)

Date
Time

IJ

00

AM

Signature

PM

';ft District C0'/ft/JUdgy

f!J

.(

NOTICE TO DEFENDANT: A KNOWING VIOLATION OF A CIVIL NO-;tfC ACT ORDER SHAd BE PUNISHABLE AS CONTEMPT
OF COURT, WHICH MA Y RESUL T IN A FI
'e R IMPRISONMENT. THE COURT MA Y FIND YOU IN
CIVIL OR CRIMINAL CONTEMPT.

I
I certify this Order is a tru\3 copy.
Datp

...-,

/ t,.

I- ( n

"

ISigna!tIc;l:.p.(

\Jl::K 11r-lvA IIUN

A.-<I.

'\
1\

"

n\ I

/ WI\;11 1.)if Vl....-/

Deputy CSC
Clerk Of Superior Court

Assistant CSC

NOTE TO CLERK: G.S. 50C-9 provides: "The clerk OfCcGt shall deliver on the same day that a civil no-contact order is issued, a certified copy of
that order to the sheriff." The statute also provides that a copy of the order shall be issued promptly to the police department of the
municipality of the victim's residence, or the sheriff and any county police department if the victim does not live within a municipality
with a police department.

RETURN/CERTWICATE OF SERVICE WHEN DEFENDANT NOT PRESENT AT HEARING

I certify that this No-Contact Order For Stalking Or Nonconsensual Sexual Conduct was received and served as follows:

Date Served

D
D

Time Served

AM

Name Of Defendant .

PM

By delivering to the defendant named above a copy of this Order.

By leaving a copy of this Order at the dwelling house or usual place of abode of the defendant named above with a person of suitable
age and discretion then residing therein.
Name And Address Of Person With Whom Copies Left

By mailing a copy of this Order to t.l:1e defendant by

registered mail.
certified mail (return receipt).

D designated delivery service.

Defendant WAS NOT served for the following reason.

Date Received

Signature Of Deputy Sheriff Making Return

Date Of Return

Name Of Sheriff (type or print)

Date Mailed

County Of Sheriff
Signature Of Clerk

D
D

DeputyCSC
Assistant CSC
Clerk Of Superior Court

NOTE TO CLERK: G.S. 50C-9(b) provides: "If the {defendant] was not present in court when theorder was issued, the (defendant] may be served in
the manner provided for seNice of process in civil proceedings in accordance with Rule 4{j) of the Rules of Civil Procedure."

AOC-CV-524, Side Two, Rev. 10/15

2015 Administrative Office of the Courts

Case 2:15-cv-01516-NJ Filed 03/01/16 Page 3 of 3 Document 14-1

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF WISCONSIN
MILWAUKEE DIVISION
WILLIAM SCHMALFELDT,
Case No. 2:15-cv-01516-NJ
Plaintiff,
v.
SARAH PALMER, ET AL.,
Defendants.
ORDER
Upon consideration of the Plaintiffs Motion for Order to Show Cause Why Defendant
Sarah Palmer Should not be Held in Contempt of Court (ECF No. 8), Defendant Palmers
Opposition to the Plaintiffs Motion to Show Cause (ECF No. 8), and any other filings in support
or opposition thereto, it is this

day of

, 2016,

hereby
ORDERED that the Plaintiffs Motion for Order to Show Cause Why Defendant Sarah
Palmer Should not be Held in Contempt of Court (ECF No. 8) is DENIED.

Case 2:15-cv-01516-NJ Filed 03/01/16 Page 1 of 1 Document 14-2