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Q: Companies in foreign country suing by American ( No Answer,   5 Comments )
Question  
Subject: Companies in foreign country suing by American
Category: Relationships and Society
Asked by: ted1315-ga
List Price: $10.00
Posted: 01 Mar 2005 17:12 PST
Expires: 31 Mar 2005 17:12 PST
Question ID: 483202
Is it true that American can sue companies in foreign nationals in US
courts and get judgments when they do not show up? Our company is sued
by an U.S. company. They said we failed to build their website ontime
which caused they lost major investors. But we did not sign any
contract with them and all the payment received from them have
bounced.

Will U.S. federal court accept such claims even it has little basis?
We do not have asset in U.S. but do lots of business here. How should
we respond when we are being served and what would be the expenses.
Answer  
There is no answer at this time.

Comments  
Subject: Re: Companies in foreign country suing by American
From: gdowwww-ga on 01 Mar 2005 18:26 PST
 
If its anything like the UK, (its likely to be harsher i imagine)...
then if you do not appear, ultimately any judgement will go against
you. Bloody cheeky firm that! As they cannot afford to pay you, they
would like you to pay them! Classic!

I wonder... if you won but had to employ and attorney, would they be
liable for your legal fees?
Subject: Re: Companies in foreign country suing by American
From: trebek9-ga on 01 Mar 2005 19:23 PST
 
You really need to get legal advice on this. Generally speaking when
you are sued in the courts of another country you have to make a
strategic decision whether to  defend the action. If you "do nothing"
and do not file any documents with the court where you are being sued,
then the person suing you will generally get a "default judgment"
against you. The question then is whether they can take that default
judgment to your own country and use it to claim against your assets
there. Whether they can do that will depend on the law of your own
country. But if you "make an appearance" in the American court, and
still lose, generally speaking the American company will have no
problem in executing its judgment against you in your own company
because you attorned to  the jurisdiction of the American court.

Again, get legal advice, and quickly. There are a lot of variables
which might affect your decision, and this area ("conflicts of law")
can be very tricky. You should consult a lawyer in your own country
who has experience dealing with conflicts of law, and then consider
also consulting a lawyer in the jurisdiction where you are being sued.
Subject: Re: Companies in foreign country suing by American
From: ian_nicholson-ga on 09 Mar 2005 06:25 PST
 
First of all, make copies of all correspondence between you and this company.
Write a chronological report of events pertaining to this deal.
If/when you get served with your summons to appear, send your
information to the Registrar at the court where your summons has been
served, explaining why you will not be making a personal appearance.

Although you may not have signed a contract, if you indicated in
emails that you would do something by a certain date, that in itself
is a contract. However, if a condition of the work you did means they
have to pay you - and they haven't - then your case is stronger.

Again, seek professional legal advice. However, do not - and I mean
NEVER - ignore letters or summons from a court. At the very least
write a letter explaining your side of the story.

Good luck!


Ian
Subject: Re: Companies in foreign country suing by American
From: alex101-ga on 15 Mar 2005 12:56 PST
 
Yes, yes, yes, it depends, and probably a few thousand dollars.

First, yes, foreign companies can be sued in US courts and

Yes, Judgments can be obtained by Default if you don't appear.

Yes, Courts will accept baseless suits because, unless you show up,
they won't know they're baseless.

What to do depends upon your particular circumstances.  However, if
you do a lot of business in the US, an adverse Judgment could cause
you problems such as obtaining credit or even potentially having
payments intercepted to pay the Judgment.  How much money is involved
will dictate much of the response.  Also, depending upon the laws of
your home country, a US Judgment may be enforceable there too.

It will probably cost a few thousand dollars to straighten it out. 
You could expect to pay a lawyer about $250/hour and probably no less
than $3,000 to $5,000, and potentially much more.

Good luck.
Subject: Re: Companies in foreign country suing by American
From: trebek9-ga on 25 Mar 2005 16:11 PST
 
The advice from Ian Nicholson to send a letter to the court registry
is totally wrong. If the court issues a default judgment, then the
fact you sent a letter to the court can be construed as attornment, so
that the default judgment would be enforceable against you in your
home country when otherwise it might not be.

In many cases ignoring the court process is by far your best option.

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