What must be done to ensure all defendants at a shared address receive notice?

• A. Serve each defendant individually if required, or as permitted by rule, ensuring proper notice for all.
• B. Post a general notice at the building.
• C. Notice is unnecessary.
• D. Serve only the first defendant.

Answer: (A)

When service of process is at issue, giving proper notice to each defendant is essential for due process. If multiple defendants live at the same address, you can’t rely on a single notice for the entire building to stand in for notice to everyone. Each defendant must be served in the method required by the rules. That means serving each defendant individually if the rule requires it, or using any other permitted method that ensures each person named as a defendant actually receives notice. This protects everyone’s right to respond.

Posting a general notice at the building or treating the notice as unnecessary would not meet that requirement, and serving only the first defendant leaves the others uninformed.