Oleksandr Andronik
Litigation
Please define:
a) Service of Process; Individuals in State Court or Federal District Court.
The delivery of the complaint and summons to the defense as required under the rules of civil
procedure. The purpose of service of process is to make sure the defendant receives the notice of
being sued and knows the time within which to respond or lose important rights.
b) Service of individuals in Foreign Country [Rule 4(i)
Unless federal law provides otherwise, an individual—other than a minor, an incompetent
person, or a person whose waiver has been filed—may be served at a place not within any
judicial district of the United States:
(1) by any internationally agreed means of service that is reasonably calculated to give notice,
such as those authorized by the Hague Convention on the Service Abroad of Judicial and
Extrajudicial Documents;
(2) if there is no internationally agreed means, or if an international agreement allows but does
not specify other means, by a method that is reasonably calculated to give notice:
(A) as prescribed by the foreign country's law for service in that country in an action in its courts
of general jurisdiction;
(B) as the foreign authority directs in response to a letter rogatory or letter of request; or
(C) unless prohibited by the foreign country's law, by:
(i) delivering a copy of the summons and of the complaint to the individual personally; or
(ii) using any form of mail that the clerk addresses and sends to the individual and that requires a
signed receipt; or
(3) by other means not prohibited by international agreement, as the court orders.
c) Service on Foreign, state or Local Government; Service Outside Geographical Boundaries of
State or Federal District Court
(1) Foreign State. A foreign state or its political subdivision, agency, or instrumentality must be
served in accordance with 28 U.S.C. §1608.
(2) State or Local Government. A state, a municipal corporation, or any other state-created
governmental organization that is subject to suit must be served by:
(A) delivering a copy of the summons and of the complaint to its chief executive officer; or
(B) serving a copy of each in the manner prescribed by that state's law for serving a summons or
like process on such a defendant.
d) Long-Arm Statutes
Method of obtaining personal jurisdiction over a non-resident defendant based on a statute
that extends a state’s jurisdiction.
e) Service in Rem and Quasi in Rem Cases
Quasi in rem jurisdiction is similar to in rem jurisdiction in that it involves the court’s control
of the property, but with quasi in rem jurisdiction, the identities of the defendants are usually
known or identifiable.
Quasi in rem jurisdiction applies when a court uses its in Rem jurisdiction over property to
"force" a litigant over whom the court has no personal jurisdiction to appear in court by
attaching property that belongs to the litigant. It applies only when a litigant has property
within a state. The court in that state may take control of that property and force the litigant
to submit to jurisdiction of that court if the litigant wants to get his or her property back. In
this way, the court can obtain jurisdiction over that party even if the court would normally
have no personal jurisdiction over that party.
Unlike with in rem jurisdiction, there is a requirement of some level of contract between the
litigant and the forum state. Or, if the litigant has no contract with the forum state, at the very
least, the seized property must have some relation to the cause of action to satisfy the
“notions of fair play and substantial justice” set forth in the International Shoe case. Less of a
relationship, however, is necessary as a basis for quasi in rem jurisdiction than is necessary
for the full personal jurisdiction.
f) Immunity from Service
Courts typically grant Immunity from process to anyone who comes within reach of the authority
of the court only because he is required to participate in judicial proceedings. The purpose of this
immunity is to ensure a fair trial by encouraging the active and willing participation of witnesses
and parties. If a witness was discouraged from coming into a state because of the risk of being
sued in that state, justice would not be served.
Immunity also protects nonresident attorneys, parties, and witnesses from being served with
process in unrelated actions while attending, or traveling to, criminal or civil trials within a state.
This immunity has been extended to protect out-of-state parties who enter a state not for trial but
to settle a controversy out of court. Diplomatic personnel, ambassadors, and consuls who are in
the United States on official business are also immune from process.