Re: [registrars] California Litigation Update

["Robert F. Connelly" <rconnell@psi-japan.com>]

At 10:12 AM 8/31/01 -0400, Michael D. Palage wrote:
>Regarding Bob's subsequent email about registrars not traveling to
>California. The service of process rules for California are very extensive.
>Some legal types have argued that based on registrars contracts with a
>certain non-profit California company, registrars would be subject to
>service of process through other means set forth in the California state
>statutes.

Dear Michael:  While your statement  has some elements of truth to it, the 
facts of the matter are that we would make it very easy and cost effective 
for the Plaintiffs if we all assembled in a convenient location *in* 
California.  Why in the world would we make it easy for them?

>  Therefore staying our of California will do you no good. As Bob
>indicated he is very sensitive to this issue because in the past he was
>served personally during an ICANN meeting a couple of years ago. For a bit
>of history, this was an action filed by a company providing registry
>services in an alternate root against CORE. The *short story* was that the
>defendants prevailed on a summary judgment motion.

The long story was very costly to CORE, which had done no wrong but was 
faced with defending a law suit on in the Plaintiff's *home_town*.  They 
very well could have had that most unfortunate outcome of being 
*home_towned*.  Ken Stubbs was also a named defendant along with CORE.  Had 
Ken Stubbs *not* been in California, his legal expenses might have been 
held down to zero.

That last figure on CORE's costs that I knew was over $50,000".  Ask Ken 
Stubbs for more information.

Had Connelly, Stubbs and Delgado *not* been in California at the ICANN, it 
might have been possible to force IODesign to file their suit in Geneva, a 
much less convenient venue for IODesign:-)

So, Michael, it is *not* appropriate for ICANN to expose ICANN Accredited 
Registrars to a certain destiny with a process server in California.

Regards, BobC