## Facts

- Plaintiffs brought a products-liability action seeking damages for injuries Gary Knapp allegedly sustained in an ATV accident; Barbara Knapp asserted derivative claims.
- Defendants were Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd. (a Japanese corporation headquartered in Japan) and Yamaha Motor Corporation, U.S.A. (its wholly owned U.S. subsidiary, based in California).
- Plaintiffs filed suit in West Virginia state court and attempted service under a West Virginia statute by serving the West Virginia Secretary of State.
- The Secretary of State forwarded the summons and complaint by registered mail, return receipt requested, to Yamaha Japan in Japan and to Yamaha U.S.A. in California.
- After removal to federal court on diversity grounds, Yamaha Japan moved to dismiss for insufficient service of process under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(5).
- Yamaha Japan argued service was defective because the Hague Service Convention applied, plaintiffs did not transmit the documents through Japan’s designated Central Authority, and the documents were not translated into Japanese.

## Issues

1. Whether attempted service on Yamaha Japan through West Virginia substituted service (Secretary of State forwarding by registered mail to Japan) satisfied the Hague Service Convention.
2. Whether failure to comply with the Hague Service Convention required dismissal under Rule 12(b)(5) for insufficient service of process.

## Decision

- The court granted Yamaha Japan’s Rule 12(b)(5) motion and dismissed Yamaha Japan for insufficient service of process.
- The court held the Hague Service Convention applied because service required transmitting judicial documents abroad to Japan.
- The court held the Convention’s procedures were mandatory where applicable and displaced inconsistent state-law methods.
- Plaintiffs’ method was noncompliant because it did not use Japan’s Central Authority procedure and did not include a Japanese translation required by Japan’s declarations under the Convention.
- The case remained pending against Yamaha U.S.A., which was served within the United States.

## Legal Principles

- When a defendant is located in a country that is a party to the Hague Service Convention and service requires transmission of documents abroad, the Convention governs the method of service.
- Where the Convention applies, its service procedures are mandatory and preempt conflicting state-law service mechanisms.
- For service in Japan under the Convention, compliance includes using Japan’s designated Central Authority and providing translations where required by Japan’s declarations.
- Actual notice to a foreign defendant does not cure noncompliance with treaty-mandated service requirements for purposes of Rule 12(b)(5).

## Conclusion

The court dismissed Yamaha Japan because plaintiffs attempted foreign service through state substituted service and registered mail without following the Hague Service Convention’s Central Authority and translation requirements, rendering service insufficient under Rule 12(b)(5).


Knapp v. Yamaha Motor Corp., U.S.A., 60 F. Supp. 2d 566 (S.D.W. Va. 1999)