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Ping An International Finance Centre, Shenzhen

The single, most important piece of information in serving a defendant is his/her/its location.  Without the “where,” nothing else matters.  Domestic defendants, foreign defendants, U.S. citizens living abroad… everything boils down to location.  Now, in most places, just saying “I need to serve a defendant in Japan” is perfectly sufficient.  The Hague Service Convention applies.  There is but a single way to get the job done.  And there’s no question about whether translation is required.  Likewise Mexico, Turkey, Korea, and the like.  But there are a few places around the globe that require a bit more inquiry to determine options and requirements.  This begins a series to look at particular places that aren’t quite so simple, for better or for worse.

Continue Reading “Where?” is the most important question: Southeastern China

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).

Federal Courthouse, Sioux City, Iowa. I worked in that building for three years back in the Ice Age. (GSA Image)

Y’all, if you know you’re going to be removed, just initiate the case in federal court to begin with.  It’ll save everybody involved a whole bunch of time and headache.

Lots of plaintiffs’ lawyers gasp when I say that.  They look at me like I have three heads.

  • “Are you nuts?”
  • “Oh, you’re a comedian now?”
  • “Clearly, you’re an idiot.”

I certainly understand why they react that way.  Continue Reading Go federal at the outset.

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.

Bayeux Tapestry – Scene 57: the death of King Harold. Myrabella via Wikimedia Commons.

Back when dinosaurs roamed the earth, I took Civil Procedure from a couple of highly talented professors.  One was among my favorite teachers of all time— he taught the concept of joinder with a shopping bag full of Beanie Babies™ and, for some baffling reason, a Jessie the Cowgirl™ doll from Toy Story 2.*  On the surface, that’s a very weird thing for a licensed attorney to put into a blog post, but the fact is, generations of JD’s from the University of Missouri-Kansas City know joinder cold because of Jeffrey Berman’s frequent flier card at Toys ‘R’ Us.  Third-party claims, cross-claims, counterclaims? Yeah, we got this.

That said, due to the compressed nature of that semester, and the reality that you just can’t learn everything you need to know as a 1L, we never really touched on certain basic concepts.  Like “how do you serve process?” or “why is the judge such a grumpy gus and how do I assuage his ire?” or “is it too late to get my LSAT fee back?”  Continue Reading Subpoena: both a sword and a shield.

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.

The Peace Palace, The Hague. (This shot was taken in December, 2019, as the Rohingya genocide case was being argued before the ICJ.)

“They tell me I have to serve through The Hague.”

I hear that phrase at least three or four times a month, and while I forego the inclination to offer that Hague requests don’t actually get sent to Holland (unless they’re being served there), I do have to clarify a couple of thoughts on the matter very early in every conversation.  Above all, if a defendant is to be served in a fellow Hague Service Convention jurisdiction, the service has to comply with the Convention– simple as that.  And if anybody tells you otherwise, introduce them to the Honorable Sandra Day O’Connor and Article VI of the U.S. Constitution.

More specifically, tell them to read Volkswagenwerk Aktiengesellschaft v. Schlunk, 486 U.S. 694 (1988). It’s a humdinger.  Continue Reading Hague Service means different things in different places.

(Wikimedia Commons)

[Author’s Note: this applies to federal practice!]

Another quirk comes across my desk now and again that seems, on the surface, to be fairly prophylactic.  Realizing that the Hague Request I filed in China months ago will take a while longer to come back, my client petitions the court to extend the Rule 4(m) service deadline by another 90 days.  This is pretty pro forma stuff, so the judge says sure, that’s okay.  Another 90 days go by and the court wants to know just what in the hell is going on here, counsel… why haven’t you gotten this served yet?  Didn’t I grant you an extension already?   Continue Reading Motion to Extend? Don’t do it.