[Originally published at vikinglaw.us]
No, really. There is truly no such thing.
There is urgency brought on by poor planning, poor execution, or being simply blindsided by a surprise issue. There is a last minute realization that a foreign defendant must be joined, and a long delay will grind the litigation to a halt.
We regularly encounter lawyers who cringe at the thought that the biggest expense involved in service of process abroad is often translation. Their misconception is either that language is no big deal, or that translators are a dime a dozen. Neither is true, but sticker shock can still be… well, shocking. So how do
U.S. court, U.S. plaintiff, U.S. defendant… everything about the case is American but one: the defendant lives in Kaiserslautern. Or Basel, or Xi’an, or Montreal—pick an overseas city.
When you serve a defendant in another country, you must observe the laws of that country, particularly where the Hague Service Convention applies. Here’s why:
If the
[Originally published at vikinglaw.us]
A particular quirk arises in serving a defendant if he or she is a U.S. servicemember stationed abroad. For the most part, I explain to clients that such an objective is a tough one, so they might have to simply wait until the defendant returns to the United States. [This
[Originally published at vikinglaw.us]
Good old 12(b)(6). The Rolling Stones Rule. Failure to state a claim for which relief can be granted (I can’t get no Satisfaction).
It’s the defense litigator’s go-to basis for dismissal. Graceful, poignant, utterly classic.
Sure, the plaintiff was harmed. Sure, the defendant caused it. But there’s
