Serving a defendant that is located outside the United States must comply with U.S. law and the law of the defendant’s home country, as well as any international agreement that may exist between the United States and the defendant’s home country, to ensure the service will be enforceable. From a practical standpoint, this means international service of process is time-consuming and expensive in most cases.
Continue Reading Serving Taiwanese Defendants by Mail under the Federal Rules
In Water Splash v. Menon, case number 16-254 before the U.S. Supreme Court, a long-standing and deep split of authority on a basic question involving international service of process has finally reached the high court. This case was granted certiorari by the Court in early December 2016. It has been briefed by both sides and is now set for argument to proceed on March 22, 2017. The question presented is whether the Convention on the Service Abroad of Judicial and Extrajudicial Documents in Civil or Commercial Matters (Hague Service Convention) allows service of process by mail.
Continue Reading A Challenge to Hague Service by Mail Is Now Before the SCOTUS…Finally