Consumer Law, Warranties US Jurisdiction for International Case

[TaiwanAudio]

Which US court(s) [Texas State, US Federal District, or US Court of International Trade] have jurisdiction for a Breach of Contract suit against a consumer electronics manufacturer in Taiwan (value may or may not be greater than $75,000)?

There is no arbitration agreement in the contract and the UCC applies since Taiwan never ratified the CISG. I have already contacted the Taiwan government Judicial group and they have stated that the case may be tried in either Taiwan or the US. I have been reading all the US Codes (Title 28 Part IV, Texas Civil Code, etc) and they all seem to be extremely non-commital when it comes to International Jurisdiction. Since there is some likelyhood that I may never get the settlement even when I win the case (I have been told there is a tendency for Taiwan manufacturers to "hide" their assets and file for bankruptcy if they lose a case), I will be doing this Pro Se in order to keep the cost down (and legally this should be a pretty easy case). At this point, my greatest fear is to file this in the wrong court.

To assist in determining jurisdiction, the simple facts are:

1) Taiwan manufacturer contacted my company (located in Texas) via phone and e-mail to assist in the promotion/distribution of products in the US
2) I agreed to his terms (in writing) and myself and my employees performed significant work promoting his products (90% of work was performed in Texas and 10% in Nevada)
3) I purchased demo units of the products which were subsequently delivered to my store in Texas
4) Taiwan manufacturer no longer wishes to honor our agreement (potentially so they can pusue a larger US distributor for their products)

Thanks

 

[NYClex]

I have no idea about Taiwan law, but probably you could sue them there.

You can sue them in Federal court if the amount in controversy exceeds $ 75,000. 28 U.S.C. 1332

Aliens can be sued in any district, so, if they have no represetative here anywhere or any office or something, you can sue them in your home district. 28 U.S.C. 1391

Of course, it won't be easy to sue someone who is not really tangible here in the States, and it will be even more difficult to collect.

 

[Michael Wechsler]

NYClex is correct with regard to the barriers for entry into Federal Court. While the possibility exists you could sue in Taiwan, I'm not sure you'd want to sue in a foreign country and might do better obtaining a judgment here if possible and then using it in the foreign court to satisfy the judgment if they refuse to pay. This is a large enough case for you to discuss with an attorney (we can provide references if you need them.)

Originally posted by TaiwanAudio
Which US court(s) [Texas State, US Federal District, or US Court of International Trade] have jurisdiction for a Breach of Contract suit against a consumer electronics manufacturer in Taiwan (value may or may not be greater than $75,000)?

There is no arbitration agreement in the contract and the UCC applies since Taiwan never ratified the CISG. I have already contacted the Taiwan government Judicial group and they have stated that the case may be tried in either Taiwan or the US. I have been reading all the US Codes (Title 28 Part IV, Texas Civil Code, etc) and they all seem to be extremely non-commital when it comes to International Jurisdiction. Since there is some likelyhood that I may never get the settlement even when I win the case (I have been told there is a tendency for Taiwan manufacturers to "hide" their assets and file for bankruptcy if they lose a case), I will be doing this Pro Se in order to keep the cost down (and legally this should be a pretty easy case). At this point, my greatest fear is to file this in the wrong court.

To assist in determining jurisdiction, the simple facts are:

1) Taiwan manufacturer contacted my company (located in Texas) via phone and e-mail to assist in the promotion/distribution of products in the US
2) I agreed to his terms (in writing) and myself and my employees performed significant work promoting his products (90% of work was performed in Texas and 10% in Nevada)
3) I purchased demo units of the products which were subsequently delivered to my store in Texas
4) Taiwan manufacturer no longer wishes to honor our agreement (potentially so they can pusue a larger US distributor for their products)

Thanks