Thirty years ago today, the Nine Wise Souls heard oral arguments in the seminal case, the kingpin-opinion, the granddaddy precedent, in what I do. Volkswagenwerk Aktiengesellschaft v. Schlunk, (opinion issued that June, and available at 486 U.S. 694) involved a wrongful death suit against the German automaker and its U.S. subsidiary. The plaintiff, whose
The Hague Service Certificate… not necessarily on the form you provide.
What has become known in the United States as a Form USM-94 is a four-page document: (1) the Request for Service Pursuant to the Hague Service Convention, (2) a blank Certificate of Service, (3) a “Notice” or “Warning” — essentially, a cover page for the defendant’s benefit (which name it carries is
Motions for Issuance of Letters Rogatory… a little like asking Mom to sign a permission slip.
Jimmy Sellers was my best friend in the sixth grade– and best man when Peggy and I got married. We never went to an art museum in 1982. [This is how we would have forged the thing. Both of our moms were NCO wives, so we would have gotten smacked. Hard.]
Phones, e-cigarettes, and exploding batteries.
Back in law school, I marveled at the most prevalent type of case discussed in Product Liability class… exploding
Certain magic the Hague Service Convention lacks
How to Serve Process in Colombia (updated 2025)
Most of us in the U.S. have a fairly warped image of Colombia in our heads– usually something to do with cocaine or a big emerald the size of your hand. If it’s not Pablo Escobar in (pick
An Index of Hague Service Convention Countries… and a How-To Guide for Each
This blog carries a good many posts about country-specific procedures under the Hague Service Convention, and that’s completely intentional. But until now, there hasn’t been a consolidated list of them, easy to click and access. Here’s a handy index of “how to” posts for
Specific Hearing Dates and the Risk of Rejection
Due Process isn’t solely an American idea. It goes by other names in other countries (natural justice in Canada), but it is still a bedrock concept in most judicial systems that espouse fairness and the rule of law. Germany, in particular, views due process rights as
How to Serve Process in Greece… updated 2025.
My wife gives me incessant grief because I enjoy romantic comedies. I’m kind of a sap. One rom-com that I absolutely adore is My Life in Ruins, a fun
When to translate documents for Hague requests
An interesting quandary popped up a few weeks ago. My client (all of my clients are fellow lawyers) told me that he’d just received the translations of the documents he