The case of the day is Corraro v. Moody International (N.D. Okla. 2012). The plaintiff, Vickie F. Corrara, sued Moody International, also known as Intertek, for sexual harassment during her employment with Moody. Moody was a UK entitly. For reasons that are unclear, Corraro’s lawyer addressed the summons to Intertek Testing Services, a subsidiary of Moody. Corraro served the summons on ITS’s registered agent for service of process. Moody did not answer, and Corraro sought a default judgment.

The judge correctly recognized that where the defendant is in a Hague Convention state, the question whether service on a foreign company’s US subsidiary is valid is a question to be decided under the law of the forum under Volkswagen. The judge determined that under the factors prescribed by Oklahoma law, Corraro had failed to show that ITS was Moody’s agent or alter ego for service of process purposes. Therefore, the service was improper, and the judge denied the motion for a default judgment.