The latest lawsuit trend we’re seeing involves class actions on behalf of farmers and co-ops accusing various fertilizer producers– including several outside the United States– of price fixing. They’re surely destined for MDL designation, quite possibly right here in Kansas City, but for now, they still have to be served in accordance with FRCP 4(f) and the Hague Service Convention. To elaborate, the Hague Law Blog welcomes Julie Maciel Rozani, who joined Viking Advocates in early 2024. Julie is admitted to practice in another agricultural powerhouse, Brazil, and found out just two days ago that she passed the Texas bar exam. What follows is Julie’s guide to service in fertilizer price-fixing suits.

It would be an understatement to say that the latest trend in American lawsuits regarding fertilizers and price fixing addresses a topic that is both highly significant and complex.

Don’t get scared, though — we have good news for you: service in those cases must happen exactly the same way as it would if we were talking about a divorce or personal injury case.

The countries in which most of these fertilizer producers are located are signatories of the Hague Service Convention – which means: “thou shalt serve pursuant to the Hague Service Convention”. Now you may ask: how is service effected in those jurisdictions, pursuant to the Hague Service Convention?

The countries involved in this discussion are usually Norway, Canada, England, and France. Click on these links, and you will find a very detailed guide on service in each of these jurisdictions.

In summary, Norway is the only country on this list where you would have only one method of service – service through a Central Authority, based on Art. 5(a) of the Hague Service Convention. The others allow private service, pursuant to Article 10(b), which is usually a much quicker way to serve.

You may also ask: do I need to translate the documents that need to be served? Those links will answer that for you too. The answer for this question will depend on the country. For Norway and France, if you want to avoid any possible headaches, yes, translate the whole thing and move on – a nice thing to remember: attorneys do not get paid by the word – but guess who does.

Therefore, fortunately, there is no extraordinary procedure for service on fertilizer producers. Unless the defendant’s attorneys accept or waive service, you will just need to serve them exactly the same way you would do it for any other matter.

Julie’s Note: As per Aaron’s introduction, agriculture (or “agro,” as we would refer to it in Brazil) is one of the greatest drivers of the Brazilian economy. A Brazilian TV advertising campaign promoted the agricultural sector with the slogan “Agro is tech, agro is pop, agro is everything.” (Brazilians will know what I am talking about). All tools that contribute to making this great machine work are relevant and heavily affect the economy.

Of course, “agro is pop” extends to several other economies and, ultimately, globally, and one of the most important tools in this context is fertilizers. We are talking about a huge segment of the world’s economy that impacts, in many ways, the result of this business: the products that reach supermarket shelves and people’s homes, and consumers’ pockets.