Category Archives: Service of Process

US Court Approves International Service of Process by Facebook

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As technologies develop, courts worldwide are increasingly open to allowing service of legal documents by new means, including by FedEx, e-mail, Facebook and Twitter. In line with that general trend, last week a District Court in New York authorized service upon certain defendants located in India by means of e-mail and Facebook.

The case, FTC v. PCCare247 Inc. (S.D.N.Y. 2013), involves allegations that several individuals located in India operated a scheme that tricked American consumers into spending money to fix non-existent problems with their computers. The FTC applied to the court and obtained a temporary restraining order enjoining defendants’ business practices and freezing some of their assets.

Because India is a signatory to the Hague Convention on Service Abroad, the FTC submitted the Summons and Complaint to the Indian Central Authority, requesting service of process pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure (FRCP) Rule 4(f)(1) and Article 3 of the Hague Convention. The FTC also attempted to serve process on the defendants by e-mail, FedEx and personal service. FedEx confirmed delivery for most of the defendants and a process server personally served all of the defendants. Continue reading →

International Service of Process in Taiwan? Relax, it’s FedEx.

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Last month a U.S. district court asked, “When service of process absolutely, positively has to be effected on a Taiwanese defendant pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 4(f)(2)(C)(ii), is Federal Express enough?”

The case, SignalQuest v. Chou, involved allegations of U.S. patent infringement. After filing the Complaint and failing to convince defendant’s counsel to accept service of process on defendant’s behalf, plaintiff’s counsel filed a request for consent to serve Mr. Chou at his business in Taiwan by FedEx.

Federal Rule of Civil Procedure (FRCP) Rule 4 allows process to be served on a foreign defendant by any internationally agreed means of service, such as means permitted by the Hague Convention, but Taiwan is not a party to most international agreements, including the Hague Convention. Continue reading →