O’Connor, J.  Favorite daughter of Arizona and distinguished author of Volkswagenwerk Aktiengesellschaft v. Schlunk, 486 U.S. 694 (1988).

The question mark in that headline only applies to half of the headline.

The result might be correct, depending on facts not articulated in the order, but the logic behind N.D. Ohio’s grant of leave to serve by alternative means in China is (to put it delicately) fatally flawed– an illustration of how “kinda-sorta-bad” law can evolve someday into extraordinarily-unquestionably-bad law.  In NOCO Company v. Shenzhen Lianfa Tong Technology Co., Ltd. et al. (1:19-cv-01855), the court issued the latest in a nationwide string of wrong decisions because, apparently, none of the lawyers in the room consider Sandra Day O’Connor an authority.

I’m serious.  Continue Reading Wrong reasoning, right result?

Sorry, Google Maps. I fixed it for you with a Post-It™ Note Flag.  Man, those things are handy.

[Update, March, 2023:  This issue previously was isolated to Hong Kong alone.  Now, Beijing has begin rejecting requests on the same basis.  When this post was originally published, I speculated that the PRC wasn’t really hung up on the issue– and for the past six or seven years, that’s been true.  Things have now changed.]

A couple of years ago, I posted an admonishment that Service of Process in Hong Kong means Hong Kong, CHINA.  That post was a precursor to the nuts & bolts post I put up a few months later on How to Serve Process in Hong Kong.  In that post, I stressed the care needed in properly naming the former British colony:  Continue Reading A Hong Kong Cautionary Tale

Bodo Akdeniz, via Wikimedia Commons.

Add me to the list of those mourning– and lauding– the great Terry Jones (he of nude organist fame), who wanted to be remembered more for his scholarship than his comedic genius.  That term, genius, is bandied about far too much these days, but Jones and his co-conspirators really were so far ahead of their time that they cannot be considered anything else.  True geniuses, all.  Well, except Cleese– he’s just a grumpy old bastard with some talent.  And a very odd gait.  Continue Reading Terry Jones… a very naughty boy.

Apparently, a normal chest x-ray.  I have precisely no base of knowledge to refute that conclusion (I haven’t gone to med school).  Image credit: Yale Rosen, via Wikimedia Commons.

I fielded a phone call in the wee early hours this morning (I was already up and working) from a fellow with an overseas issue.  He said he needed a some help with the Hague Convention (there’s no such thing as “the” Hague Convention), and could he pick my brain for a few minutes.  Continue Reading Pro se litigants and Hague service

Māori protest at Waitangi, 2006. Charlie Brewer, via Wikimedia Commons.

No original content here– just a reiteration of something I urge lawyers to always be cognizant of:  which language will govern a contract.  In Five Essential Things– Elaborated, Part 4: Choice of Language, I stressed the importance of choosing a contract’s operative language in the contract itself, and making sure that an accurate translation of that operative language makes the other side aware of its terms.  Horrific things result if lawyers miss the mark.  Continue Reading Translation Remains Key… TO EVERYTHING

Jennifer Moy, via Wikimedia Commons.

Yet another rant here about advice from purported experts on service of process abroad.  The usual tidbits have been making the rounds of late, according to clients who’ve called me.  Continue Reading They really don’t know what they’re talking about.

Bills go in the bottom door. As do, apparently, mailed summonses from the United States. (Image credit: GabrielleMerk, via Wikimedia Commons.)

Query from a colleague last week: hey, Aaron, settle a bet for me.  Does Switzerland object to Article 10(a) of the Hague Service Convention?

“Emphatically,” I responded.  And went on to tell him that if he tried serving his Swiss defendant by mail, the time it would take to quash it could be clocked with an egg timer.  Continue Reading Hague Service Convention Article 10 methods: make sure they’re valid!

O’Connor, J.  Author of Volkswagenwerk Aktiengesellschaft v. Schlunk, 486 U.S. 694 (1988).

A primer for defense counsel here– but a cautionary tale for plaintiffs’ lawyers as well.  [With a focus on federal practice, particularly Rule 4… state rules vary, but not by much.]

Hey, Aaron, how do you quash Hague service?    Continue Reading How to Quash Hague Service