United States Supreme Court Archives

Sep 27, 2017

Service by Mail Under the Hague Service Convention

By Marcia M. Ernst[1] The United States Supreme Court recently ruled in Water Splash, Inc. v. Menon[2] that Article 10(a) of the Convention on the Service Abroad of Judicial and Extrajudicial Documents in Civil or Commercial Matters[3] (“Hague Service Convention”) does not prohibit service of process by mail. The Hague Service Convention is an international treaty signed by 72 countries, including the U.S.[4] It establishes a uniform mechanism for serving judicial documents on parties in other member countries and streamlines the service process so the documents reach recipients in a timely manner.[5] The Water Splash decision resolved a long-standing split… Read more

May 31, 2016

High Court Rules in Favor of Landowners Over Army Corps of Engineers Objections

In an 8-0 decision, the United States Supreme Court held that designating a property as a Water of the United States was a final agency action. Landowners now have the ability to challenge designations of Waters of the United States before penalty actions are commenced. This decision gives landowners greater flexibility in fighting an erroneous designation. A landowner can now file a challenge to a wetlands designation without the same risk regarding fines. For more information, please contact Phillip Hoover.