Trader Joe's Company v. DesertCart Trading FZE

Background

Trader Joe’s Company sued DesertCart Trading FZE and Piffert Inc. for unfair competition and trademark infringement. The opinion states that DesertCart is based in the United Arab Emirates and that its website did not provide a physical address. The website directed users to contact the company through email, telephone, or chat.

Trader Joe’s previously sent three cease-and-desist letters to support@desertcart.com. After the third email, DesertCart directed Trader Joe’s to send legitimate legal claims to legal@desertcart.com. Trader Joe’s sent the letter to that address twice but received no response. Trader Joe’s also tried to serve DesertCart through its chief executive, Rahul Swaminathan, at four addresses identified through filings or investigation reports, but those attempts failed. A private investigator also could not locate him.

Piffert Inc. was successfully served on March 17, 2023. Trader Joe’s sought permission to serve DesertCart by email and asked for additional time to complete service.

Legal standard

Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 4(f)(3) permits a court to order service on a foreign party by means not prohibited by an international agreement. The method must be reasonably calculated to notify the party about the lawsuit and give it an opportunity to respond. The court explained that email service is not required to be a last resort, but the requesting party must show that the circumstances warrant court intervention.

Court’s analysis

The court found that email service was not prohibited by an international agreement. It noted that the United Arab Emirates was not a signatory to the Hague Convention or another service agreement with the United States, and that the court was not aware of an agreement prohibiting email service to a United Arab Emirates corporation.

The court also found that email was reasonably calculated to notify DesertCart. DesertCart had previously communicated with Trader Joe’s through the support email address and had directed Trader Joe’s to use the legal email address for legal claims. Trader Joe’s had sent two emails to each address without receiving an indication that the messages had bounced or otherwise failed to arrive. The unsuccessful attempts to serve Swaminathan at four addresses further supported the need for alternative service.

Disposition

The court granted Trader Joe’s motion. It ordered Trader Joe’s to serve DesertCart by email at support@desertcart.com and legal@desertcart.com by June 16, 2023. The order addressed service of process and did not decide the merits of the unfair-competition or trademark-infringement claims.