On Sept. 30, a federal magistrate judge in California ruled a non-profit corporation could use Twitter to serve legal papers on a foreign defendant who has actively raised money to fund ISIS attacks on Christians in Iraq and Syria. St. Francis Assisi has been unsuccessful in serving the defendant — Hajjaj al-Ajmi, a Kuwaiti national — through other means. The magistrate judge approved use of the social media platform by St. Francis Assisi, based in California, saying service via Twitter is “reasonably calculated to give notice” and is not prohibited by international agreement. The magistrate judge for the Northern District of California also noted that al-Ajmi has a large following on Twitter and has used the platform to raise large sums of money for terrorist organizations.
Randy L. Dryer, Presidential Honors Professor and lecturer in the S.J. Quinney College of Law at the University of Utah, is available to answer questions about the use of social media for service of process generally and specifically as it relates to foreign defendants under this ruling.
To speak with Dryer, please contact him through email at [email protected]
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