Opinion
21-cv-1019
01-18-2022
NOCO COMPANY, Plaintiff, v. HONG KONG HEXIN GROUP CO., LTD., Defendant.
OPINION & ORDER [RESOLVING DOC. 8]
JAMES S. GWIN, UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT JUDGE
Plaintiff NOCO Company (“NOCO”) sues Defendant Hong Kong Hexin Group Co., Ltd., for trademark infringement, trademark dilution, deceptive trade practices, and unfair competition.
Doc. 1.
Plaintiff NOCO is an Ohio corporation. Defendant is organized under Hong Kong law.
Id. at ¶ 2.
Id. at ¶ 3.
Plaintiff NOCO has not yet successfully served Defendant. Now, Plaintiff moves to serve Defendant under Hague Convention procedures. For the following reasons, the Court GRANTS Plaintiff's motion.
Doc. 8.
I. Background
Plaintiff obtained multiple addresses for Defendant in Hong Kong, China; Shenzhen, China; Xiamen, China; and Xi'an, China. Plaintiff sent the summons and complaint, written notice, and waiver requests to those addresses. Plaintiff also exchanged emails with Defendant's attorney.
Doc. 7 at 2-5, 7-8.
Id.
Id. at 4.
Despite Plaintiff's attempts to serve Defendant, Plaintiff has not received completed waivers of service. Plaintiff now seeks to serve Defendant under Hague Convention Procedures.
Doc. 8 at 2.
Id.
II. Discussion
Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 4 authorizes service to a foreign corporation under the procedures authorized by the Hague Convention on the Service Abroad of Judicial and Extrajudicial Documents (“the Hague Convention”).
The Hague Convention is a treaty “intended to provide a simpler way to serve process abroad, to assure that defendants sued in foreign jurisdictions would receive actual and timely notice of suit, and to facilitate proof of service abroad.” The Hague Convention states that it “shall apply in all cases, in civil or commercial matters, where there is occasion to transmit a judicial or extrajudicial document for service abroad.” The Supreme Court has held that “compliance with the Convention is mandatory in all cases to which it applies.”
Volkswagenwerk Aktiengesellschaft v. Schlunk, 486 U.S. 694, 698 (1988).
Id. at 699 (quoting Convention on Service Abroad of Judicial and Extrajudicial Documents in Civil and Commercial Matters, art. 1, Nov. 15, 1965, 20 U.S.T. 362).
Id. at 705.
Here, the Hague Convention applies because the United States and China are both treaty signatories. Plaintiff knows Defendant's physical addresses, meaning that the exception for unknown addresses does not apply in this case.
Noco Co., Inc. v. Zhejiang Quingyou Elec. Com. Co., Ltd., 338 F.R.D. 100, 103 (N.D. Ohio 2021).
Id. at 108.
III. Conclusion
The Court GRANTS Plaintiff's motion for leave to serve Defendant under Hague Convention procedures. The Court ORDERS Plaintiff to provide status updates to the Court every four months until Plaintiff succeeds in serving Defendant.
IT IS SO ORDERED.