Three years ago I posted “Modify State Court Summons Deadlines. Just do it.” to equip my clients (all lawyers) with the necessary ammunition for an argument with their clerks of court when summonses are to be served abroad. Essentially, I laid out the logic that, if a summons contains language that makes it expire within X days after issuance, that expiry language must be removed, lest it (1) cause a service request to be rejected by a foreign Hague authority or (2) automatically moot the summons prior to service by that authority. Maryland is my big problem child in that regard. Illinois and Connecticut are more than a bit quirky.

Enter our friends in Michigan.

The Mitten State. The Great Lake State. The Motor State. The We-Deserve-a-Super-Bowl-Win State (they really do). The state where a summons expires by rule 91 days after it’s issued.

The language of the summons itself, Form MC 01, isn’t problematic and needs no modification. It contains nothing like the self-immolating text found in most Illinois and all Maryland summonses. (I’m still looking at you, Crabcakes. Seriously, get your act together.)

But while Mich. R. Civ. P. 2.102(D) is very clear, it presents a challenge to parties looking overseas to tag their opponents. In whole:

(D) Expiration. A summons expires 91 days after the date the summons is issued. However, within those 91 days, on a showing of due diligence by the plaintiff in attempting to serve the original summons, the judge to whom the action is assigned may order a second summons to issue for a definite period not exceeding 1 year from the date the summons is issued. If such an extension is granted, the new summons expires at the end of the extended period. The judge may impose just conditions on the issuance of the second summons. Duplicate summonses issued under subrule (A) do not extend the life of the original summons. The running of the 91-day period is tolled while a motion challenging the sufficiency of the summons or of the service of the summons is pending.

This is a huge problem when the summons is directed at a defendant abroad, because the odds that it will be served by the 91st day are slim in some places and precisely nil in most of the world. And you can’t simply get an extension on the original summons once it’s already been sent to a Hague Central Authority in Notamerica.* You must ask the judge to issue a second summons, extended out for a year, and then you have to start your Hague Request all over again.

So what should you do to negate the need for a second Hague Service Convention Request, and all the costs that entails?

Simple. Get the first summons on Monday, throw it in your digital wastebasket, then ask for a second one on Tuesday.** The judge is naturally going to look at you like you’re nuts, but explain that, gee, your honor. Aaron says things don’t work over there the same way they work here.***

Expected timelines around the world run from blazingly fast– Ticino, the Italian-speaking canton in Switzerland, once got a proof back to me in three weeks– to glacially slow, India and Mexico being the worst by far. They often take two years (that’s not a typo). But even in faster destinations like Switzerland and parts of Germany, delays still happen, and they’re completely outside your control. In order to ensure your client’s access to justice and promote judicial economy, relate to the judge the expectation that the 91-day limit is all but certain to be blown. That means you’ll be back to ask for another summons anyway down the road.

Way down the road.

* Tip for non-Geography majors: Notamerica is a fictional place, sort of like those silly jurisdictions like “Erehwon” that they came up with in Moot Court. My friends in the immigration bar fight having their clients sent there.

** While you’re at it, pull the second page of the MC 01 — for the same reason you should pull page 2 of a federal AO440 summons. It’s not the appropriate proof.

*** Cite me as an authority at your own peril. Then again, if your judge has a sense of humor show him/her this post. If he/she is grumpy, keep me out of it.