Rare Relief In Southern District of New York

On August 16, 2010, Judge Laura Taylor Swain of the Southern District of New York granted Justin Sher’s unusual motion to serve a summons and complaint by e-mail. The case involved allegations that an American talent agency defrauded Mr. Sher’s client, a Taiwanese entertainment firm, by falsely claiming to represent a premier hip-hop artist. Mr. Sher argued that it was impracticable to find the physical location of one of the defendants and that, because the alleged fraudulent conduct took place over e-mail and the Internet, service by e-mail offered the best hope of notifying the defendant of the lawsuit. The court agreed. Read the order here.