Suzuki Motor Co. v. Superior Court

Introduction

Suzuki Motor Co., Ltd. (Suzuki), defendant below, by the petition here seeks a writ of mandate to compel the superior court to vacate its order denying Suzuki’s motion to quash service of process and to enter an order granting that motion.

Facts

Suzuki is a Japanese corporation which is named as a defendant in an action now pending in the superior court entitled Peggy Armenia v. Bellflower Suzuki, et al., case No. BCV 003277.

Peggy Armenia, the plaintiff in that action and the real party in interest in this proceeding, allegedly sustained personal injuries while operating a 1984 Suzuki four-wheel, all-terrain vehicle. Ms. Armenia filed a complaint for products liability and negligence against a number of defendants, including Suzuki.

Plaintiff purported to effect service of process upon Suzuki by sending the summons, together with copies of the complaint, certificate of assignment and amendment to the complaint, via registered mail to Suzuki’s ofiice in Hamamatsu, Japan. These documents, which actually were received by Suzuki, were not translated into Japanese.

Suzuki moved to quash service of process, asserting that service was improper under the…