Case of the Day: Appel v. Hayut

The case of the day is Appel v. Hayut (SDNY 2020). The plaintiff, Ronit Appel, served process on David Kazhdan, a defendant in Israel, by hiring Rimon Deliveries and Services, apparently an Israeli delivery company, which then mailed the documents to Kazhdan through the Israeli post. Just so that this is clear, the documents were mailed from Rimon, in Israel, to Kazhdan, in Israel. Thus this is not the ordinary postal channels case where the question is the sufficiency of mail sent from the United States to the state of destination. (more…)

Continue ReadingCase of the Day: Appel v. Hayut

Case of the Day: Kim v. Min Sun Cha

The case of the day is Kim v. Min Sun Cha (Guam 2020). The wife, a South Korean national, and the husband, a former South Korean national now a US citizen, married in 2012 and had a child. The wife left Guam for South Korea in 2016 with the child, and the husband brought a divorce action in Guam. The wife then brought a divorce action in South Korea, and the husband petitioned the South Korean court to order return of the child to Guam under The Hague Child Abduction Convention. The South Korean court rejected the petition to return the child on the ground that both countries could be considered its habitual residence and because the husband had consented to the child’s stay in South Korea.

The husband had served the wife with process in the Guam action by mail to her last known address, with the Court’s permission. According to the decision, “the envelope mailed to [the wife] did not include a name for the addressee and was discovered by [her] only because the guard at her apartment building told her about an envelope from Guam in the return-to- sender box.” Acting on her attorneys’ advice, she did not respond to the suit. The husband sought entry of default, and then, unusually, made a request to the South Korean central authority for service. The central authority failed to make service and returned a certificate to that effect. The Guamanian judge entered a divorce decree that awarded joint legal custody and gave the husband primary physical custody and ordered the return of the children to Guam. The wife then sought to register the South Korean order denying the husband’s petition for a return in the Guam court, and she sought to set aside the default judgment. The court denied the request to set aside the default judgment, and thew wife appealed. (more…)

Continue ReadingCase of the Day: Kim v. Min Sun Cha

Cert. Watch: Changzhou SinoType v. Rockefeller

Readers, here is the petition for cert. in Changzhou Sinotype Technology Co. v. Rockefeller Investments (Asia) VII, a case from the California Supreme Court that you’ll remember from this spring. Here are the facts in a nutshell. A US company wins a big arbitral award against a Chinese company in a US-based arbitration. Rather than going to China to enforce the award, it sought a California judgment confirming the award. It brought an action in Los Angeles and served the summons and petition on the Chinese company, in China, via FedEx. (more…)

Continue ReadingCert. Watch: Changzhou SinoType v. Rockefeller

Case of the Day: Densys Ltd. v. 3Shape Trios A/S

The case of the day is Densys Ltd. v. 3Shape Trios A/S (W.D. Tex. 2020). Densys was an Israeli company. It sued 3Share, a Danish company, for patent infringement. Densys served process by having the clerk send the documents to 3Share in Denmark by Fedex. 3Share moved to dismiss. (more…)

Continue ReadingCase of the Day: Densys Ltd. v. 3Shape Trios A/S

Case of the Day: Rockefeller v. Changzhou SinoType

The case of the day is Rockefeller Technology Investments (Asia) VII v. Changzhou Sinotype Technology Co. (Cal. 2020). I wrote about the intermediate appellate decision in October 2018, and I briefly noted the new decision last week. Sinotype was a Chinese company. The parties were negotiating towards a contract to form a new company, and they had an interim memorandum of understanding that provided:

The Parties shall provide notice in the English language to each other at the addresses set forth in the Agreement via Federal Express or similar courier, with copies via facsimile or email, and shall be deemed received 3 business days after deposit with the courier.

The Parties hereby submit to the jurisdiction of the Federal and State Courts in California and consent to service of process in accord with the notice provisions above.

In the event of any disputes arising between the Parties to this Agreement, either Party may submit the dispute to [JAMS] in Los Angeles for exclusive and final resolution … according to its streamlined procedures before a single arbitrator … pursuant to California law ….

When negotiations broke down, Rockefeller sought arbitration. It gave notice of the arbitration to SinoType via FedEx and email in China. SinoType did not appear in the arbitration, and the arbitrator awarded $414 million in damages. Rockefeller filed a petition under California law to confirm the award. It transmitted the petition and summons to SinoType in China via FedEx and email. SinoType defaulted and the court confirmed the award. SinoType then appeared and move to set aside the judgment for insufficient service of process. (more…)

Continue ReadingCase of the Day: Rockefeller v. Changzhou SinoType

Case Preview: Rockefeller v. Changzhou Sinotype

The California Supreme Court has given its decision in Rockefeller Technology Investments (Asia) VII v. Changzhou Sinotype Technology Co. (Cal. 2020). I will have full coverage next week, but I wanted readers to have early access to this important decision. This is the case of the parties who agreed to “service” (I put the word in quotes because it is at issue in the decision) in China by Fedex. The question was whether such an agreement can overcome China’s Article 10(a) objection under the Service Convention, which is really another way of asking: is Article 10 there to protect the interests of the litigants, or of the state? (more…)

Continue ReadingCase Preview: Rockefeller v. Changzhou Sinotype

Case of the Day: Zanghi v. Ritella

The case of the day is Zanghi v. Ritella (S.D.N.Y. 2020). Francesco Zanghi and Zanghi LLC sued Piergraziano Ritella, Giuseppe Cavallaro, Alessandro Vacca, and Gioia e Vita S.r.L. alleging violations of the securities laws and the RICO Act. “Broadly described, the complaint alleges that defendants defrauded plaintiffs into investing in pizzerias in New York City and Miami.” He served some of the defendants in Italy by FedEx and some by email. The Italian defendants moved to dismiss for insufficient service of process. (more…)

Continue ReadingCase of the Day: Zanghi v. Ritella

Case of the Day: Shull v. University of Queensland

The case of the day is Shull v. University of Queensland (D. Nev. 2018). Frederick H. Shull Jr. sued the University of Queensland School of Medicine. He sought leave to serve process by mail.

The United States and Australia are both parties to the Hague Service Convention. Australia does not object to service by postal channels, though it does require such service to be sent by registered mail. So the answer to the motion should have been to deny it on the grounds that no leave is required: Shull was free to serve process by mail as long as he followed the formalities required by FRCP 4(f)(2)(C)(ii). (more…)

Continue ReadingCase of the Day: Shull v. University of Queensland

Case of the Day: Amazon v. Glenn

The case of the day is Amazon, Inc. v. Glenn (W.D. Wash. 2018). It’s an odd case. Amazon won an arbitration award against Thomas Glenn, who resided in the Dominican Republic. It sought to confirm the award. The clerk “mailed the petition to Respondent’s address in the Dominican Republic, in accordance with the Hague Convention on the Service Abroad of Judicial and Extrajudicial Documents in Civil or Commercial Matters, Article 10(a).” Glenn defaulted, and the court entered judgment. What could be simpler? (more…)

Continue ReadingCase of the Day: Amazon v. Glenn