SignalQuest v. Chou, et al.

2012 DNH 090

• Court: District Court, D. New Hampshire
• Decided: May 22, 2012
• Docket: CV-11-392-JL
• Status: Published

Opinion

SignalQuest v . Chou, et a l . CV-11-392-JL 5/22/12 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT DISTRICT OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

SignalQuest, Inc.

v. Civil N o . 11-cv-392-JL Opinion N o . 2012 DNH 090 Tien-Ming Chou and Oncque Corporation

MEMORANDUM ORDER

When service of process absolutely, positively has to be

effected on a Taiwanese defendant pursuant to Federal Rule of

Civil Procedure 4(f)(2)(C)(ii), is Federal Express enough?

Defendants Tien-Ming Chou and Oncque Corporation, citizens of

Taiwan to whom the clerk of this court sent the summons and

complaint in this action via Federal Express, say n o , and have

moved to dismiss for insufficient service of process. See Fed.

R. Civ. P. 12(b)(5). Noting that Rule 4(f)(2)(C) does not allow

for service on foreign defendants in a manner “prohibited by the

foreign country’s law,” they argue that enlisting the clerk of

this court to send them process by Federal Express was improper

because that method of service is not prescribed by the Taiwanese

laws governing service of process. Plaintiff SignalQuest, Inc.

argues in response that the rule merely precludes service using a

method expressly proscribed by the applicable foreign law, and

does not require the plaintiff to make service using a method

expressly prescribed by that law. Because this is an action for patent infringement, this

court has jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §§ 1331 (federal

question) and 1338 (patent). After hearing oral argument, the

court denies defendants’ motion. The plain meaning of the word

“prohibited” favors SignalQuest’s interpretation of Rule

4(f)(2)(C). Moreover, another provision of Rule 4 , subsection

(f)(2)(A), already permits parties to make service on a defendant

in a foreign country “as prescribed by the foreign country’s law

for service in that country.” If subsection (f)(2)(C) is read in

the manner defendants argue, then it would authorize precisely

the same form of service as subsection (f)(2)(A), making at least

one of those provisions superfluous. Because it is undisputed

that Taiwanese law does not expressly prohibit the manner of

service employed here, the court concludes that service on

defendants was proper.

I. Applicable legal standard

When the sufficiency of process is challenged under Rule

12(b)(5), the plaintiff bears “the burden of proving proper

service.” Rivera-Lopez v . Municip. of Dorado, 979 F.2d 885, 887

(1st Cir. 1992); see also Saez Rivera v . Nissan Mfg. Co., 788

F.2d 819, 821 n.2 (1st Cir. 1986). “A plaintiff may rely on

specific allegations in the complaint to create a prima facie

2 showing of facts that would dictate the appropriate means of

service.” C3 Media & Mktg. Grp., LLC v . Firstgate Internet,

Inc., 419 F. Supp. 2d 419, 427 (S.D.N.Y. 2005) (citing Jazini v .

Nissan Motor Co., 148 F.3d 1 8 1 , 184 (2d Cir. 1998)). “But in

resolving the motion, the court must look to matters outside the

complaint to determine what steps, if any, the plaintiff took to

effect service.” Id. Such matters may include the return of

service, affidavits submitted by the parties, and testimony or

other evidence adduced at an evidentiary hearing. See generally

Blair v . City of Worcester, 522 F.3d 105 (1st Cir. 2008); see

also 5B Charles Alan Wright et a l . , Federal Practice and

Procedure § 1353, at 343-45 (3d ed. 2004) (cataloguing evidence

admissible on Rule 12(b)(5) motion).

II. Background

This action arises out of a patent dispute. SignalQuest is

a Delaware corporation headquartered in New Hampshire. Chou is

the CEO of Oncque, a Taiwanese corporation with its principal

place of business in Taiwan. He is also the original owner of

U.S. Patent N o . 6,706,979 (the “‘979 patent”), which teaches a

vibration switch including a housing with an accomodation chamber

for receiving two electric contract bodies, and which SignalQuest

alleges Chou either assigned or licensed to Oncque.

3 In July 2011, Chou sent SignalQuest a cease and desist

letter claiming that certain of its products infringed the ‘979

patent. That same month, Oncque contacted one of SignalQuest’s

distributors and demanded that the distributor remove

SignalQuest’s products from its website because they infringed

the ‘979 patent. SignalQuest, believing that legal action by

defendants was imminent, responded by filing this action for a

declaratory judgment that it is not infringing the ‘979 patent.

Before attempting to serve the complaint on defendants,

SignalQuest amended it to add a claim for patent infringement,

which alleges that Chou and Oncque are themselves infringing

SignalQuest’s patents, specifically, U.S. Patents Nos. 7,067,748;

7,326,866; and 7,326,867.

After trying unsuccessfully to persuade defendants’ counsel

to accept service on their behalf, SignalQuest filed an affidavit

with this court requesting that service be made pursuant to

Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 4(f)(2)(C)(ii).1 It also

provided the clerk of this court with copies of the summons,

complaint, and other documents for service on defendants via

1 See Service of Judicial Documents in Foreign Countries, at www.nhd.uscourts.gov/cp/filing-information/ForeignDefendant.asp (“[T]his district . . . requires that attorneys seeking service of process in a foreign country by mail provide an affidavit setting forth the precise manner of service chosen and the legal authority to support the selected method of service.”).

4 Federal Express. Federal Express delivered the service documents

to Oncque at its headquarters in Taichung City, Taiwan on

December 1 , 2011. An individual named “ S . Wang”--who, defendants

say, is a sales assistant at Oncque--signed the delivery receipt.

After Federal Express twice attempted delivery on Chou at his

residence in Taiwan and was rebuffed, plaintiffs returned to the

clerk of this court and provided documents to be served on Chou

via Federal Express at his place of employment, Oncque. On

December 1 9 , 2011, Federal Express delivered the service

documents to Chou at Oncque’s headquarters in Taichung City; “ S .

Wang” again signed the delivery receipt. Oncque and Chou filed

the present motion on January 2 0 , 2012.

III. Analysis

Before a federal court may exercise jurisdiction over a

defendant, the procedural requirements of service of process must

be satisfied. Omni Capital Int'l Ltd. v . Rudolf Wolff & Co., 484

U.S. 9 7 , 104 (1987). Those requirements are set out in Federal

Rule of Civil Procedure 4 . Rule 4(f) governs service on an

individual in a foreign country, while Rule 4(h)(2) governs

service on corporations in foreign countries. The requirements

set forth in those subsections are nearly identical; Rule 4(h)(2)

provides that service on a foreign corporation may be made “in

5 any manner prescribed by Rule 4(f) for serving an individual,”

with one exception not relevant here.

In full, Rule 4(f) provides:

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.

Here, the parties agree that SignalQuest did not make service on

defendants pursuant to Rules 4(f)(1), (2)(A)-(B), or ( 3 ) . Taiwan

6 is not a signatory to the Hague Convention or any other agreement

specifying an appropriate means of service, so service pursuant

to Rule 4(f)(1) is not a possibility, and it is undisputed that

SignalQuest did not follow Taiwan’s law governing service, the

directions given in response to a letter rogatory, or any order

of this court. As just mentioned, SignalQuest relies solely on

Rule 4(f)(2)(C)(ii), contending that it properly effectuated

service of process under that section by having the clerk of this

court deliver the summons and complaint to defendants by Federal

Express. Defendants’ disagreement with that contention is

limited to a single issue: they argue that the method of service

SignalQuest chose in this case is “prohibited by the foreign

country’s law,” and therefore ineffective under Rule 4(f)(2)(C).2

2 The court notes that there are at least two other potential problems with the method of service SignalQuest chose. First, Federal Express, as a private courier service, may not constitute a “form of mail” within the meaning of Rule 4(f)(2)(C)(ii). Compare NSM Music, Inc. v . Villa Alvarez, N o . 02-cv-6482, 2003 WL 685338, *2 (N.D. Ill. Feb. 2 5 , 2003) (holding service under Rule 4(f)(2)(C)(ii) invalid because Federal Express did not constitute mail “as that term is commonly understood”) with IntelliGender, LLC v . Soriano, N o . 10-cv-125, 2012 WL 215066, *2 (E.D. Tex. Jan. 2 4 , 2012) (“[S]everal courts have implicitly ruled that service under Rule 4(f)(2)(C)(ii) using signed receipt Federal Express mail is appropriate.”). Second, it is far from clear that delivering service documents to Chou at his place of work, where they were signed for by another individual, is sufficient under the rule. Compare Intelsat Corp. v . Multivision TV LLC, 736 F. Supp. 2d 1334, 1341-42 (S.D. Fla. 2010) (where “receipts were signed by receptionists at [defendant’s] place of work, not by [defendant] himself,” defendant “was not properly served under Rule 4(f)(2)(C)(ii)”) with Martinez v . White, N o . C 06-1595 CRB,

7 The principal point of disagreement between the parties is

the proper interpretation of the term “prohibited by the foreign

country’s law.” That matter has occupied a number of courts, and

two clear lines of authority, corresponding to the positions the

parties stake out here, have developed. “The vast majority of

cases to consider the issue have held that a method of service is

not prohibited under Rule 4(f)(2)(C)(ii) unless it is expressly

prohibited by a foreign country’s laws.” Fujitsu Ltd. v . Belkin

Int’l, Inc., N o . 10-cv-3972, 2011 WL 3903232, *3 (N.D. Cal. Sept.

6, 2011); see also SEC v . Alexander, 248 F.R.D. 1 0 8 , 111-12

(E.D.N.Y. 2007) (collecting cases). The only judge of this court

to consider the issue has also taken that view, see Emery v . Wood

Indus., Inc., 2001 DNH 155, 4-5 (McAuliffe, J . ) , which is the

interpretation SignalQuest urges. The remaining cases, which

have interpreted the rule in the manner defendants urge, hold

that “unless expressly permitted by foreign law, service by

registered mail should be deemed prohibited under Rule

4(f)(2)(C)(ii).” TruePosition, 2006 WL 1686635 at * 4 .

2006 WL 2792874, *2 (N.D. Cal. Sept. 2 8 , 2006) (Rule 4(f)(2) (C)(ii) “does not require defendant’s signature; it merely requires a signed receipt.”). Defendants have not raised either of these issues, though, and in the absence of briefing and the presence of divergent authority, the court expresses no opinion on whether either one would render service here inadequate.

8 As between the two interpretations, the court finds the

majority view more persuasive. To begin, that interpretation

fits more comfortably with the plain language of Rule 4(f)(2)(C)

itself, which, of course, is the “starting point” for

“interpreting a formal rule of procedure.” Delgado v . Pawtucket

Police Dep’t, 668 F.3d 4 2 , 49 (1st Cir. 2012). To “prohibit”

means “to forbid by authority or command: ENJOIN; INTERDICT.”

Webster's Third International Dictionary 1813 (1993); see also

Black’s Law Dictionary 1212 (6th ed. 1990) (defining “prohibit”

as “[t]o forbid by law; to prevent”). 3 “A form of service is not

‘forbidden by authority’ merely because it is not a form

explicitly ‘prescribed’ by the laws of a foreign country.” Dee-K

Enters. Inc. v . Heveafil Sdn. Bhd., 174 F.R.D. 376, 380 (E.D. V a .

1997); see also Wright, supra § 1134 (noting that while the rule

“can be interpreted to bar parties from using any method of

service not explicitly prescribed by the laws of the foreign

country . . . this reading of the rule seems inconsistent with

the text on its face.”). To be “prohibited” requires something

3 Federal courts, including this one, frequently look to Webster’s and Black’s when attempting to ascertain the ordinary or natural meaning of a word or phrase. E.g., Knowles v . N.H. Dep’t of Corrs. Comm’r, 538 F. Supp. 2d 453, 460 (D.N.H. 2008) (citing Smith v . United States, 508 U.S. 223, 228-29 (1993)). Here, the court looks to the editions of each dictionary in print at the time Rule 4(f)(2)(C) was adopted in 1993. See Perrin v . United States, 444 U.S. 3 7 , 42-43 (1979).

9 more, akin to a clear command that a course of action cannot be

taken.

To the extent that any ambiguity remains in the text of Rule

4(f)(2)(C) when that provision is considered in isolation,

moreover, that ambiguity disappears when it is viewed in context.

See Delgado, 668 F.3d at 49 (language of a procedural rule must

be interpreted “with due regard to . . . the context in which it

is found”). To conclude that any method of service not

prescribed by a foreign country’s law is prohibited under

subsection (f)(2)(C) of Rule 4 would appear to render that

provision superfluous. This is because subsection (f)(2)(A) of

the rule allows service to be effected on a defendant in a

foreign country “as prescribed by the foreign country's law.” As

one court has explained:

[I]f subsection (f)(2)(C) is inapplicable where a form of return receipt mail is not prescribed by the law of a foreign country, then a plaintiff’s failure to satisfy subsection (f)(2)(A) would preclude the availability of subsection (f)(2)(C) thereby making the latter subsection useless. In order to give subsection (f)(2)(C) operative effect, the subsection should be interpreted to permit service of process by alternative forms of service that, while not specifically prescribed by the laws of a foreign country, are also not prohibited by such laws.

Res. Ventures, Inc. v . Res. Mgmt. Int’l, Inc., 42 F. Supp. 2d

423, 430 (D. Del. 1999); see also Dee-K, 174 F.R.D. at 380 (“[I]f

all forms of service not ‘prescribed’ are ‘prohibited’, then the

10 failure to satisfy subsection (f)(2)(A) would preclude the

availability of subsection (f)(2)(C) and the latter subsection

would have no effect; it would be useless.”). “[A] court called

upon to construe a procedural rule should give effect, whenever

possible, to every word and phrase contained in the rule’s text,”

United States v . Ven-Fuel, Inc., 758 F.2d 7 4 1 , 751-52 (1st Cir.

1985), and defendants proffer no interpretation of Rule

4(f)(2)(C) that would not in essence read that subsection out of

the rule. Indeed, defendants do not acknowledge the existence of

Rule 4(f)(2)(A), let alone try to reconcile it with their

interpretation of Rule 4(f)(2)(C).4

Instead, defendants appeal to policy, arguing that to

require a method of service “be ‘explicitly prohibited’ under the

law of the foreign country would leave the drafters of civil

procedure rules in foreign countries with the daunting task of

listing every forbidden method of service they could contemplate

at the time.” Even assuming that such a concern could overcome

the rule’s plain language, defendants overstate their case. As

4 Nor, for that matter, do any of the cases defendants cite in support of their interpretation of the rule. See Exp.-Imp. Bank of U.S. v . Asia Pulp & Paper Co., Ltd., N o . 03-cv-8554, 2005 WL 1123755, *2-*3 (S.D.N.Y. May 1 1 , 2005); Jung v . Neschis, N o . 01-cv-6993, 2003 WL 1807202, *2-*3 (S.D.N.Y. Apr. 7 , 2003); Procter & Gamble Cellulose C o . v . Viskoza-Loznica, 33 F. Supp. 2d 644, 664-65 (W.D. Tenn. 1998); Graval v . P.T. Bakrie & Bros., 986 F. Supp. 1326, 1329 (C.D. Cal. 1996).

11 SignalQuest notes, Rule 4(f)(2)(C) does not require quite so

daunting a task, because a country could prohibit any means of

service not specifically prescribed by its own laws with a single

sentence, e.g., “process in a case pending in a foreign country

shall not be served upon a citizen of this country except as

specified by the laws of this country.”5

The court therefore concludes that service by Rule

4(f)(2)(C)(ii) is permitted unless the law of the foreign country

in which the defendant is located expressly proscribes service by

the means specified therein. With the proper interpretation of

the rule thus resolved, the resolution of defendants’ motion

becomes a simple matter. Defendants themselves admit that

Taiwanese law contains no explicit textual prohibition on service

in the manner undertaken in this case. See document n o . 18 at 1

(“service by Federal Express is not literally prohibited under

5 Furthermore, Rule 4(f)(2)(C) does not permit service by every method of service that can be contemplated, but permits only two narrow forms of service (by delivery to an individual personally or by return-receipt mailing by a federal court clerk). Those are the only two forms of service that the foreign country would have to prohibit to prevent service from being made under the rule. And although it may admittedly seem farfetched to expect a country to expressly prohibit a means of service-- especially since our own rules do not explicitly do s o , instead opting to specify acceptable means of service and let negative implication do the rest--it is not inconceivable. In fact, at least one country has expressly prohibited service through one of the methods set forth in the rule. See Prewitt Enters., Inc. v . OPEC, 353 F.3d 916, 925 (11th Cir. 2003) (applying Austrian l a w ) .

12 [Taiwanese law]”); id. at 2 (Taiwanese law “is silent on whether

service by Fed Ex is prohibited”). They attempt to argue that

service that “is not articulated in” Taiwanese law “is implicitly

prohibited under Taiwanese law” by “negative implication.” But

this argument boils down to the proposition that service not

expressly prescribed by a foreign country’s law must be

prohibited--a proposition that fails for the reasons just

discussed.

Accordingly, service as specified by Rule 4(f)(2)(C)(ii) is

not prohibited by Taiwanese law. In so holding, the court joins

at least five other federal courts to examine this issue. See

Belkin Int’l, 2011 WL 3903232 at *2-*3; Fujitsu Ltd. v . Nanya

Tech. Corp., N o . 06-cv-6613, 2007 WL 484789, *5 (N.D. Cal. Feb.

9, 2007); TruePosition, 2006 WL 1686635 at *4-*6; Power

Integrations, Inc. v . Sys. Gen. Corp., 04-cv-2581, 2004 WL

2806168, *2-*3 (N.D. Cal. Dec. 7 , 2004); Emery, 2001 DNH 155, 4-

5. Because the service in this case was reasonably calculated to

give defendants notice of this action and did, in fact, provide

them such notice, the court concludes that service on defendants

was proper under Rule 4(f)(2)(C)(ii).

13 IV. Conclusion

For the reasons set forth above, defendants’ motion to

dismiss6 is DENIED.

SO ORDERED.

Joseph N. Laplante United States District Judge Dated: May 2 2 , 2012

cc: Robert R. Lucic, Esq. Thomas J. Donovan, Esq. Nicholas F. Casolaro, Esq. Timothy N . Trop, Esq.

6 Document n o . 1 5 .