Cipolla v. Picard Porsche Audi, Inc.
| Decision Date | 16 July 1985 |
| Docket Number | No. 83-201-A,83-201-A |
| Citation | 496 A.2d 130 |
| Parties | Anita CIPOLLA v. PICARD PORSCHE AUDI, INC., et al. ppeal. |
| Court | Rhode Island Supreme Court |
The plaintiff (Anita) in this international controversy appeals the dismissal of her product liability action by a Superior Court judge for her failure to properly effectuate service on a West German defendant, Volkswagenwerk Aktiengesellschaft (VWAG). A brief recital of the facts leading to this litigation is in order.
In September 1978 Anita, a resident of the Pawtuxet Valley, purchased a 1978 Volkswagen Rabbit from Picard Porsche Audi, Inc. (Picard), a licensed retail automobile dealership doing business in Warwick. Volkswagens were distributed in the United States by Volkswagen of America, Inc. (VWOA), a New Jersey corporation. On June 24, 1981, Anita sustained personal injuries and the total loss of her vehicle when the accelerator on the Rabbit "stuck" as she was backing out of a driveway. The Rabbit crossed Warwick's West Shore Road and struck a house on the opposite side of the roadway. It is safe to say that as Anita "barreled rapidly in reverse across the road," the supremacy clause of Article VI of the United States Constitution never crossed her mind.
Suit was initially brought against Picard and VWOA on October 23, 1981. Later, on April 12, 1982, Anita was permitted to file an amended complaint pursuant to Rule 15(a) of the Superior Court Rules of Civil Procedure, in which she included as an additional defendant the Rabbit's manufacturer, VWAG. She then sought to effect service of process upon VWAG by serving, on November 18, 1982, a copy of the summons and amended complaint upon the Secretary of State for the State of Rhode Island. Subsequently, on December 8, 1982, Anita's counsel sent a letter by certified mail to VWOA and enclosed a copy of the summons and amended complaint.
In taking this route, Anita's counsel relied upon Rule 4(e)(2) and G.L.1956 (1969 Reenactment) § 7-1.1-108, as amended by P.L.1970, ch. 136, § 15, which, in pertinent part, provides that whenever a "foreign corporation authorized to transact business in this state" 1 fails to appoint a registered agent in the state for service of process, the Rhode Island Secretary of State shall be deemed to be the agent of the corporation for purposes of receiving process. Anita's counsel has also maintained that VWAG is subject to the jurisdiction of the state of Rhode Island because it has the necessary "minimum contacts" as set forth in G.L.1956 (1969 Reenactment) § 9-5-33.
VWAG has consistently contended that Anita's action should be dismissed since the Superior Court never obtained personal jurisdiction over the West German corporation because her purported service of process was a nullity. The motion to dismiss was based upon noncompliance with the Convention on the Service Abroad of Judicial and Extrajudicial Documents in Civil or Commercial Matters (Hague Convention). Entered into Force for the United States, February 10, 1969, 20 U.S.T. 361, T.I.A.S. 6638, 658 U.N.T.S. 163. 2
The United States and the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany) are signatories of the convention. The convention was drafted to simplify and to expedite the service of judicial and extrajudicial documents between signatory nations and to ensure that recipients are served in sufficient time to allow them to act. It applies in all cases concerning civil or commercial matters wherein documents are transmitted abroad between those in signatory countries.
The convention provides that each state is to designate a central authority to receive requests for service of documents. Requests for service, which must conform to a model form annexed to the convention, should be sent, along with the documents in question, by the judicial officer or authority of the state in which the documents originate to the designated central authority of the country in which the recipient is located. When it receives a request, the central authority itself serves the documents or arranges service according to its internal laws. Once service is perfected, the central authority must forward a certificate to that effect to the applicant. If the request is insufficient for some reason, the...
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Schlunk v. Volkswagenwerk Aktiengesellschaft
...service of process of the West German defendant. (88 A.D.2d 504, 505-06, 449 N.Y.S.2d 733, 735.) Similarly, in Cipolla v. Picard Porsche Audi, Inc. (R.I. 1985), 496 A.2d 130, the plaintiff was allegedly injured when the accelerator stuck on her VW Rabbit. She originally brought suit against......
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Schlunk v. Volkswagenwerk Aktiengesellschaft
...of process of the West German defendant. (88 A.D.2d 504, 505-06, 449 N.Y.S.2d 733, 735.) Similarly, in Cipolla v. Picard Porsche Audi, Inc. (1985), --- R.I. ----, 496 A.2d 130, the plaintiff was allegedly injured when the accelerator stuck on her VW Rabbit. She originally brought suit again......
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Volkswagenwerk Aktiengesellschaft v. Schlunk
...v. International Components Corp., 118 Misc.2d 489, 491-492, 461 N.Y.S.2d 166, 167-168 (1983) (same), with Cippolla v. Picard Porsche Audi, Inc., 496 A.2d 130, 131-132 (R.I.1985) (holding that the Hague Service Convention is the exclusive means of serving a foreign corporation); Wingert v. ......
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Groupion, LLC v. Groupon, Inc.
...documents originate to the designated central authority of the country in which the recipient is located." Cippolla v. Picard Porsche Audi, Inc., 496 A.2d 130, 131-132 (R.I. 1985); see The Hague Convention, art. 4, Nov. 15, 1965, 20 U.S.T. 361, T.I.A.S. 6638, 658 U.N.T.S. 163). "Once a cent......
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SUBSTITUTED SERVICE AND THE HAGUE SERVICE CONVENTION.
...statute and reaching the same result as Melia, see infra notes 179-84 and accompanying text. (162.) Cipolla v. Picard Porsche Audi, Inc., 496 A.2d 130, 132 (R.I. (163.) Melia, 135 F.R.D. at 30. (164.) Id. at 32 (citing Hammond, 128 F.R.D. at 642). In fact, Rhode Island's statutory requireme......