26 Oct Service of Process by Social Media? Yep.

Here’s one clearly unanticipated benefit to the explosion of Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and the like. US courts are now allowing you to serve papers on a foreign defendant in a lawsuit via their social media account or email. The most recent one, according to the ABA Journal: serving a guy with a lawsuit in Kuwait, who is alleged to be fundraising for ISIS, through his Twitter account. In the suit, a non-profit is seeking damages for the alleged murder by ISIS of Assyrian Christians in Syria and Iraq.

The judge ruled that as long as the method was reasonably calculated to give notice and not barred by international agreements it was good. The alleged bad guy was active on his Twitter account and that was important as well. You’re not allowed to do this in the US.

What’s not clear is whether the Kuwaiti will receive it, if he has turned off direct messages. In any event, what do you think is the likelihood he just hops on a plane to answer this lawsuit? More likely you get hit by lightning.