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UK question re US law procedures

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T

tanx

Guest
I live in the England and need some help regarding US law. I am being threatened by a large USA company who I believe may sue me in New York State over alledged copyright infringment. IMHO their case is a very weak one but I cannot defend myself because I live in the UK and cannot afford to travel to the USA or pay for USA lawyers. My question is: If I am to be sued in the USA and I cannot defend myself and I lose my case due to non appearance and can't pay the damages, can my assets be taken from me or would the American company need to sue me in the UK under English law in order to do that.

Please help me because I am very worried.

Thanks in advance

TJ
 


racer72

Senior Member
No, they cannot sue you in the U.S. and force you to come here. The company would have to sue you in your local courts. You most likely received a form letter from there legal department and it was designed to scare more than anything else. But if you are doing business in the U.S. and are profiting from the potential copyright infringement, they could force you to stop doing business here. And if it is an internet business, you would really be entering a gray area of the laws of both countries. You may want to seek local legal counsel in the area of international law, they could review your case in detail and give you a more definitive answer.
 

JETX

Senior Member
The US State Department has some pretty good information resources that detail what is needed to obtain and enforce an international legal action.

Specifically, the following came from the State Department site:
"PERSONAL JURISDICTION: It is fundamental that a court must have personal jurisdiction over a defendant before it can enter a valid judgment imposing a personal obligation on the defendant. Kulko v. Superior Court, 436 U.S. 84 (1978). In Pennoyer v. Neff, 95 U.S. 714 (1878) the Supreme Court set down the basic rule that a personal judgment against a nonresident defendant who was not served within the state, and who did not appear or otherwise assent to the jurisdiction of the court, is invalid. Over the years, however, the Supreme Court has substantially qualified Pennoyer to the extent that, under certain circumstances, a state court may properly acquire personal jurisdiction over a nonresident even though the defendant is not personally served within the forum state, provided the defendant has certain "minimum contacts" with the forum state "such that the maintenance of the suit does not offend traditional notions of fair play and substantial justice." International Shoe Co. v. Washington, 326 U.S. 310 (1945). See also, e.g.,
Hanson v. Denckla, 357 U.S. 235 (1958); Shaffer v. Heitner, 433 U.S. 186 (1977); and World-Wide Volks-Wagen Corp. v. Woodson, 444 U.S. 286 (1980). As noted above, foreign countries may find that the U.S. interpretation of this issue differs from local foreign law, rendering the U.S. judgment unenforceable abroad."

And since the US courts would not have jurisdiction over you in the UK, you should be immune to any US action.

Relevant US State Department sites:
Enforcement of Judgments
http://travel.state.gov/enforcement_of_judgments.html
Processes in UK
http://travel.state.gov/uk_legal.html
 

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