Kott
Kott v. Superior Court
Opinion
Opinion
Johnson, J.
This is a petition for a writ of mandate in which petitioner, Irving Kott, seeks to reverse the trial court’s order refusing to quash service of summons. The issue is whether service of summons by publication is invalid under the Hague Service Convention once plaintiffs learned petitioner was a resident and citizen of Canada. We hold service by publication in this case was invalid due to plaintiffs’ failure to exercise due diligence to locate petitioner in Canada before seeking court authorization to accomplish service by publication in a Los Angeles newspaper. Accordingly, we issue the writ.
Facts and Proceedings Below
Real parties in interest, Beachport Entertainment Corporation and Stuart Benjamin Productions, Inc. (Beachport), are corporations formed to engage in various entertainment ventures, including television programming, motion picture and television features, and related enterprises.
In 1994, Beachport sought to increase its capitalization by approximately $12 million through public and private stock offerings. Beachport hired defendant JB Oxford & Company (Oxford) as its exclusive underwriting and investment banking firm.