In Re Linda Willhite and Rex Willhite, Plaintiffs v. Paulo Rodriguez-Cera and Juan Torres, Defendants

Summary

The court held that Colorado's rule governing service in a foreign country does not make service under an international agreement the exclusive method of service and does not require service to occur abroad. Because substituted service within the United States can be validly completed through delivery to an appropriate substitute without transmittal of documents abroad, the Hague Service Convention was not necessarily implicated. The court made the rule absolute, reversed the order quashing service, and remanded for further proceedings, including consideration of any unresolved requirements for substituted service. Justices Coats and Eid, dissenting, would have held that the rule's mailing requirement triggers the Hague Service Convention.