Carrillo v. Sabbadini

Background

Cristina Carrillo filed copyright-infringement claims against Micol Sabbadini, ZV NY, Inc., ZV France, S.A.S., and John Does 1–10. Carrillo filed the motion at issue under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 4(f)(3), which allows a court to authorize service on an individual in another country by means not prohibited by an international agreement.

The motion concerned only service on Sabbadini, whom the opinion says was located in Italy. Carrillo described efforts to serve Sabbadini beginning shortly after filing the complaint. Those efforts included sending the complaint and related papers to Sabbadini and her attorneys, twice asking Sabbadini to waive service, contacting seven service companies, and hiring an Italian private investigator. Carrillo could not retain a service company or complete service under the Hague Convention because she could not provide Sabbadini’s address, and the investigator could not find it.

Issue

The question was whether the court should authorize Carrillo to serve Sabbadini by email at sabbadinim@gmail.com, with additional service as backup through Sabbadini’s U.S. counsel and her official Instagram account.

Court’s reasoning

The court found that Carrillo’s multiple attempts showed that court intervention was necessary. It also found that Sabbadini had used the proposed personal email address recently and consistently, including in communications about the dispute and the case. That history suggested that an email containing the summons and complaint would likely reach her.

The court also authorized service on Sabbadini’s U.S. counsel as a backup because the record indicated that Sabbadini was in contact with counsel and had directed Carrillo to communicate with U.S. counsel. The court approved private-message service through Sabbadini’s verified Instagram account as another backup because Sabbadini regularly posted there, including posts involving the allegedly copyrighted works.

The court separately considered constitutional due process, which requires a method of service reasonably calculated to inform an interested person about the case and give that person an opportunity to respond. Based on Sabbadini’s past responsiveness to the email address, her communications with counsel, and her activity on Instagram, the court found that the authorized methods were reasonably likely to provide notice.

Disposition

The court granted Carrillo’s motion to serve Sabbadini by alternative means. Carrillo may serve Sabbadini by email at sabbadinim@gmail.com and, as backstops, by email to Sabbadini’s U.S. counsel and by private message to Sabbadini’s Instagram account. The Clerk’s Office was directed to terminate the motion at docket entry 26. The opinion did not decide the underlying copyright claims.