Villavicencio v. Zoetis US, LLC

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
WESTERN DISTRICT OF MICHIGAN
SOUTHERN DIVISION
DIANA VILLAVICENCIO,
Plaintiff,
v.
ZOETIS US LLC,
Defendant.
____________________________/
Case No. 1:25-cv-637
Hon. Hala Y. Jarbou
ORDER
On January 7, 2026, Magistrate Judge Sally J. Berens issued a report and recommendation
that Zoetis’s motion to dismiss for improper service be treated as a motion to quash and granted in
part, and that Zoetis be issued with a new summons to be served by the U.S. Marshals. (R&R,
ECF No. 23.) The R&R was duly served on the parties. No objections have been filed, and the
deadline for doing so expired on January 21, 2026. On review, the Court concludes that the R&R
correctly analyzes the issues and makes a sound recommendation.
In light of Zoetis’s representations concerning the identity of the business entity that
employed Plaintiff, however (ECF No. 16), the Court deems it appropriate that the complaint be
amended to name the proper defendant before a new summons is issued and served. See Datskow
v. Teledyne, Inc., Cont’l Prods. Div., 899 F.2d 1298, 1301 (2d Cir. 1990) (“[T]he line between
naming the wrong defendant and mislabeling the right one must be drawn in light of the context
of the nomenclature created by the defendant and the labeling undertaken by the plaintiffs assessed
against that context.”); Roberts v. Michaels, 219 F.3d 775, 778 n.2 (8th Cir. 2000) (collecting
cases). 	The Court therefore grants Plaintiff leave to file a second amended complaint naming
Zoetis US LLC as the sole defendant; the clerk of the court shall issue a summons for service by
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the U.S. Marshals at the address of Zoetis US LLC’s registered agent in Michigan upon receipt of
the amended pleading.
IT IS ORDERED that the R&R (ECF No. 23) is APPROVED and ADOPTED as the
opinion of the Court.
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that Zoetis’s motion to dismiss for insufficient service of
process (ECF No. 16), construed as a motion to quash service, is GRANTED. 	The motion is
DENIED in all other respects.
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that Plaintiff may file a second amended complaint naming
Zoetis US LLC as the sole defendant in this action.
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the clerk of the court shall issue a summons directed
to Zoetis US LLC upon receipt of the second amended complaint to the U.S. Marshals for service
upon Zoetis at the address of its registered agent in Michigan (see ECF No. 20 at 14). The clerk
shall update the case caption on the docket accordingly.
Dated: January 30, 2026 	/s/ Hala Y. Jarbou
HALA Y. JARBOU
CHIEF UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
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