Transnational Service of Process and Discovery in Federal Court Proceedings: An Overview

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2002

Keywords

Maritime Law, Service, Discovery, Transnational Litigation

Abstract

The nature of the maritime business makes it inevitable that much litigation, usually taking place in federal court, involves issues of service of process for the summons and complaint on foreign entities, and that discovery involves efforts to depose witnesses overseas and to collect documents, materials, and information from foreign jurisdictions. This Article is not intended to be an exhaustive treatment of the subject of transnational service of process and discovery. Many articles, in fact whole books, have been written on various aspects of these issues. However, none seem to cover the entire subject. Voluminous case law addresses various aspects of this subject. This Article provides an introduction and overview for practitioners. In addition to identifying the principal sources of law governing these matters, this Article also seeks to identify particular issues that may prove particularly troubling when navigating the treacherous channels of the service and discovery processes.

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