A foreign defendant does not waive its right to contest personal jurisdiction when defendant retains American counsel, does not enter an appearance, and challenges a default judgment against defendant on personal jurisdiction grounds.

The decedent died in a motor vehicle collision with a truck operated by the defendant, a Kuwaiti transport company in Iraq. The decedent's estate filed a tort law claim in District Court. The defendant retained American counsel; however, counsel did not enter an appearance. Absent any evidence of the defendant's overt wrongdoing to deceive the court and avoid service of process, the defendants did not act improperly or waive personal jurisdiction in this matter. Furthermore, the Court of Appeals held that the defendant did not waive personal jurisdiction by entering into contracts with the U.S. Government and that the defendant was free to ignore the judicial proceedings, risk a default judgment, and then challenge that judgment on jurisdictional grounds.

Case Law Alert - 2nd Qtr 2010