Honda Motor Co. v. Superior Court

This is a petition for writ of mandate authorized by Code of Civil Procedure section 418.10, subdivision (c), seeking to reverse the trial court order refusing to quash service of summons on defendant and petitioner, a Japanese corporation. The issue presented, as to which the authorities conflict, is whether a California resident may obtain valid service on a Japanese national by a private mail service. We shall hold that such a service is invalid under the Hague Convention, and therefore the motion to quash should have been granted.

The dispositive facts are not in controversy. Plaintiff Stephen G. Opperwall served defendant Honda Motor Co., Ltd. (Honda) by sending the summons, complaint and other documents to Honda’s office in Japan by certified mail, return receipt requested. The papers were unaccompanied by any Japanese translation. Honda admitted receipt of the papers. Honda’s acknowledgment stamp of receipt on the documents was in English. The superior court denied Honda’s motion to quash this service, and this petition followed.

The issue is one of statutory construction and depends on whether article 10(a) of the Hague Convention allows service of process upon…