Trials & Litigation

UK's High Court for the First Time OKs Service Via Facebook

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In a United Kingdom first, the High Court there has agreed to allow a hard-to-locate individual to be served via Facebook in a civil case.

Fabio de Biase has been granted 14 days to respond—much more than the norm—to be sure he has enough time to check his Facebook account, the Am Law Daily reports.

His former employer, broker TFS Derivatives, is a defendant in a suit brought by investment manager AKO Capital, which claims it has been significantly overcharged. TFS hopes to force de Biase, a derivatives negotiator who managed the relationship between the two companies, to pay a portion of any damages won by AKO.

Stories in Legal Week and the Telegraph provide further details.

The U.K.’s County Court, as well as courts in Australia and New Zealand, have previously allowed service via the social networking site, and the High Court previously allowed service via Twitter.

Related coverage:

ABAJournal.com: “UK’s High Court OKs Serving Injunction on Anonymous Blogger Via Twitter”

ABAJournal.com: “Singapore Court Envisions Lawyers Trading Docs Online, Serving Suits on Facebook”

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