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CARTIST, Unsplash

I say all the time that we aren’t building rockets here.  But we are building a ship, and a leaky ship means that your people could not possibly reach North America from Europe.  Do it the right way, and you’re the FIRST EUROPEANS TO REACH NORTH AMERICA.  That’s right, I said it.  Scandinavians got here first.  Er, well, we didn’t get here first.  But we beat Columbus to the punch by about five hundred years.

Aaaaaanyhow… I often joke about those “evil Swedes who kept my Norwegian ancestors under their thumb for centuries” but the truth is, Scandinavia is made up of several (three or four, depending on who you talk to) wonderful and kindred cultures, and I look to Swedes as family.  We all answer to the Viking Horn and we all know intuitively that Valhalla awaits us in the afterlife.  And deep down, we all reeeeally want to drive a Volvo.

I digress.

Serving process in Sweden is subject to the strictures of the Hague Service Convention.  This holds true regardless of which U.S. or Canadian venue is hearing the matter.

You’ve got three ways to go:

  1. Tap us on the shoulder for bespoke attention—and probably some amusing commentary to boot (see the upper right if you’re on a desktop, or way down below if you’re on a phone/tablet),
  2. Cruise over to the Hague Envoy platform at USM94.com to automate the completion of your forms in perhaps twenty minutes or so, or
  3. If you’re feeling froggy & would like to handle the whole thing yourself, keep reading.  This lays out the framework you’ll need.

Some background is in order, if you’re so inclined, before we cut to the chase.

Here’s how it’s done in Sweden:

Article 5 Service

  • Translate the documents. Sweden’s declaration to Article 5(3) requires documents to be submitted in Swedish– or in Norwegian or Danish (a big cost saver if you have defendants elsewhere in Scandinavia).
  • Fill out a USM-94. Be very careful about ensuring that it is complete and concise, and make sure that it is signed by a court official or an attorney.  If it is not, make sure that the person signing is commissioned by the court.
  • Send to the appropriate Central Authority, in this case the Länsstyrelsen i Stockholms län.  [There will be a quiz later.]
  • Sit tight. It may take a while—likely several months from submission to return of proof.

Article 10 alternative methods

  • Mail service is available, but it’s a bad idea anyway. If you do select this route, pay particular attention to the venue court’s rules about how mail service is initiated—in federal cases, adhere strictly to FRCP 4(f)(2)(C)(ii).
  • Sweden also allows direct access to “judicial officers or other competent persons” under Article 10(b), but they make no definitive statement in their declarations about who those people are.  Moreover, no authority is Sweden is obliged to assist foreign litigants.  Frankly, it doesn’t matter because Sweden’s Central Authority is pretty efficient.

Seriously—that’s all there is to it in Sweden.  Sweden’s declarations and Central Authority information can be found here.

And remember… if you’re defense counsel, always question the validity of service effected on your overseas client, because the plaintiff may not have done it correctly.  That actually happened once, with a defendant in Norway, and her lawyers were smart enough to fight the issue.  The Washington Court of Appeals erroneously thought going outside the Central Authority was okay, but their Supreme Court saw the matter differently.

I love ABBA, And I've loved them since the 1970s. Don't you dare judge me.
I love ABBA, And I’ve loved them since the 1970s. Don’t you dare judge me.

For the record (pun intended), my favorite Swedish export is not the Volvo.  It’s not Saab, it’s not IKEA (although– go there, go there again, and go there repeatedly), and I’ve never even been inside H&M.  It’s the fabulous pop sensation that forms the soundtrack of my childhood.  No kidding.  –>