Heyne v. Mitsubishi Motors North America et al

Filing 29

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER that the Clerk of the Court shall reset the case management deadline in this case for January 26, 2015, with the following text: "Check completion of service of summons." Ordered by Judge John M. Gerrard. (JSF)

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF NEBRASKA
TODD M. HEYNE,
Plaintiff,

8:12-CV-421

vs.
MEMORANDUM AND ORDER
MITSUBISHI MOTORS NORTH
AMERICA, INC., et al.,
Defendants.
This matter is before the Court on its own motion based on the case
management deadline of October 21, 2014, set in the Court's Memorandum
and Order of July 23, 2014 (filing 21). That deadline has passed, and the
Court has received nothing to indicate that service of process has been
accomplished pursuant to the Hague Convention on the Service Abroad of
Judicial and Extrajudicial Documents in Civil or Commercial Matters, opened
for signature Nov. 15, 1965, 20 U.S.T. 361 ("Hague Convention").
But international service of process is not known for its efficiency. See
generally, Permanent Bureau of the Hague Conference on Int'l Law, Practical
Handbook on the Operation of the Hague Convention of 15 November 1965 on
the Service Abroad of Judicial and Extrajudicial Documents in Civil or
Commercial Matters (3d ed. 2006) ("Practical Handbook"); Eric Porterfield,
Too Much Process, Not Enough Service: International Service of Process
Under the Hague Service Convention, 86 Temp. L. Rev. 331 (2014). Reliable
information on how long it should take to serve process abroad is difficult to
find, but the Court's research suggests that it usually takes 2 to 4 months,
and often 6 months or more. See Porterfield, supra, at 332; see also Practical
Handbook, supra, ¶¶ 155-57.
Summons was issued by the Clerk of the Court on July 25, 2014 (filing
23) and for now, there is little to do but wait to see if and when service of
process will be completed. The Court will set a new case management
deadline to check on service of process.

IT IS ORDERED:
1.

The Clerk of the Court shall reset the case management
deadline in this case for January 26, 2015, with the
following text: "Check completion of service of summons."

Dated this 5th day of November, 2014.
BY THE COURT:

John M. Gerrard
United States District Judge

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