Service of Process Abroad

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How’s this for odd? Amazon lists the CD for five bucks and the vinyl for seventy.

Billy Joel released The Stranger album in 1977, just as I was starting the first grade.  It wasn’t until I was in high school that this album truly became one of my favorites, and it remains so decades later.  Not least because the varied tracks on it pop up in conversation so frequently.

The best thing a potential client could ever say to me– aside from “shut up and take my money”– is “yeah, we could probably figure this out on our own, but we’d rather get it right the first time.”  Cue the soundtrack of my youth.

It’s applicable in Hague Service Convention usage because, even though you might get a second bite at the apple following a curable defect, you may not know there’s a problem until a year or two down the road.  That makes for irate clients and grumpy judges.Continue Reading Get it right the first time– that’s the main thing.

Brandon Grasley via Wikimedia Commons.

[Details have been changed to protect the innocent.  Some variant of this story happens routinely— at least every couple of months.]

A few weeks ago, I received a Hague Certificate following a request that I’d sent on a client’s behalf to a foreign Central Authority. Essentially, it said, hey, Aaron, thanks for playing– we served your defendant on February 30th, so go get ’em.  My client filed it in fairly short order and all seemed to be well.*

Opposing Counsel filed a responsive motion, asking the court to reject the proof provided by the foreign Central Authority, insisting that only an affidavit would do, and that the Hague Certificate that we’d filed was insufficient under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.  O.C. cited Rule 4(l)(1), which is crystal clear that an affidavit is required to demonstrate proper service.

(l) Proving Service.

(1) Affidavit Required. Unless service is waived, proof of service must be made to the court. Except for service by a United States marshal or deputy marshal, proof must be by the server’s affidavit.

It’s crystal clear if you stop reading there.Continue Reading Hague Service Convention proof supersedes local rules.

Yabba. Dabba. Doo.

“The defendant works at…”

Hmm.  Do you happen to have a home address?

“No, just his office.”

Let’s hope he’s there.  And that we can get in the door…

That exchange happens between lawyers and process servers daily.  And it’s a challenge, because defendants can’t be served by substitution at their place of business.* 
Continue Reading Home address… just get it (if you can).

Since the beginning, the primary purpose of this blog has been to educate the practicing bar on the practical application of the Hague Service Convention.  While we’re happy to give away the recipe to the Special Sauce (there’s no secret about this stuff, really), we’ve been lucky to have a whole bunch of great people trust us to handle their Hague Service Requests from start to finish.  Many of them find us through the Hague Law Blog, the readers of which usually fall into one of three categories: 
Continue Reading Big Announcement: Hague Service Request Automation

Buckinghamshire County Council, Ros Tyrrell, via Wikimedia Commons.

Yet another “FAQ” post, if you will…

“Hey, Aaron, the complaint is under seal, and the judge has ordered me to instruct the process server that he’s under the same obligation as I am.”

I respond: Well, that’s all fine and good, if you’re using private agent service in a country that would enforce the seal.  But Article 5 service via a Central Authority?  In a word, fugghetaboutit.  Once this thing goes overseas, all bets are off.  
Continue Reading Hague service and documents under seal.

Ocho Rios, Standish77 via Wikimedia Commons

Squarely in the heart of the Caribbean Sea lies an island that has played host to countless movies, spring break junkets, and movies about spring break junkets.  The mere mention of Jamaica conjures images of Bob Marley, cabanas under palm trees, and scantily clad beachgoers who have escaped the frigid northern winter.  And lots of tour packages… which naturally leads to lots of litigation.

Jamaica is not party to the Hague Service Convention (HSC), although it has acceded to the Hague Apostille and Child Abduction Conventions.  Notwithstanding its absence from the HSC, serving documents in Jamaica is relatively straightforward, owing to its status as a former British colony and current member of the Commonwealth of Nations.  It maintains a healthy common law system, so it should not be unfamiliar to American or Canadian* lawyers. 
Continue Reading How to Serve Process in Jamaica

The old Jackson County Courthouse, Independence, Missouri.  We don’t use it anymore, and Independence isn’t the county seat anymore.  MT Images via Wikimedia Commons.

A routine question from clients across the continent– especially those in my own state*:  “Hey, Aaron, the clerk says I have to tell the court who is going to be serving the documents in China or they won’t issue my summons.  Could you get me the process server’s name and qualifications so they can appoint him?”

There’s a lot loaded into that, with some compelling responses.  The primary response: No… you and I don’t get to know that. 
Continue Reading No, the U.S. court doesn’t get to appoint a process server overseas.

For the record, this story did not originate at Foley Square.  S.D.N.Y. clerks are on the ball.  This story happened in another highly sophisticated district– one with LOTS of maritime and IP cases, many of which I’ve had served without such hassle.  Image: TJ Bickerton, via Wikimedia Commons.

A new quandary popped up for me recently, one that I hope is just a matter of a stressed-out government employee* who’s been dealing with a lot over the past two years.  Last month, a client called me because he needed to serve a defendant in Sweden.  No problem, said I, as long as you have a valid address, we should be good to go.  He engaged me, and we were just about ready to rock & roll with the Hague Request, but before I pulled the trigger on the translation, I said I needed an issued summons.  No dice, said he.  He had been told by the court clerk that he had to submit the translated version of the complaint before a summons would be issued.

Um, huh?  Wha… ?   

Continue Reading Sorry, court clerks—you don’t have the authority to review translations.

Trafalgar Square, London.  Just a few blocks from the Royal Courts of Justice and England’s Central Authority.

Client queries: “hey, Aaron, the clerk says the Hague Service Convention requires certified copies of the Summons and Complaint and something called an Apostille.  Where do I get that?”

I get some variant of that question pretty regularly, most often from colleagues within just a few miles of me.*

For starters… no, the Hague Service Convention says nothing of the sort.** 
Continue Reading Certified copies? Nope. Not needed.