Denlinger
Denlinger v. CHINADOTCOM CORP.
Opinion
Opinion
Rushing, J.
Does article 10(a) of The Hague Convention on the Service Abroad of Judicial and Extrajudicial Documents in Civil and Commercial Matters (the Convention) allow service of process by mail? We conclude that it does. We therefore reverse the trial court’s order granting respondents’ motion to quash the service of summons and complaint of plaintiff and appellant Paul Denlinger.
FACTS AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND
Respondents Peter Hamilton, Peter YIP Hak Yung, and Raymond Ch’ien are directors and officers of Chinadotcom, a company incorporated in the Cayman Islands with offices in Hong Kong. Respondents work and reside in Hong Kong.
Appellant Denlinger is a former employee of China.com, an entity related to Chinadotcom. Although Denlinger was based in Silicon Valley, he sometimes worked in China and Hong Kong.
After Denlinger was fired, he filed suit in Santa Clara County against respondents, other individual defendants and the Chinadotcom group of corporate entities. He alleged that he was wrongfully terminated. In January 2002, Denlinger’s first amended complaint and summons were served by registered mail on respondents in Hong Kong.