(Download) "Gebr. Eickhoff Maschinenfabrik Und" by Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia * eBook PDF Kindle ePub Free
eBook details
- Title: Gebr. Eickhoff Maschinenfabrik Und
- Author : Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia
- Release Date : January 22, 1985
- Genre: Law,Books,Professional & Technical,
- Pages : * pages
- Size : 78 KB
Description
Syllabus. Although the procedures under the Multilateral Convention on the Taking of Evidence Abroad in Civil or Commercial Matters, March 18, 1970, 23 U.S.T. 2555, T.I.A.S. No. 7444 [reprinted in 28 U.S.C.A. § 1781 (Supp. 1984)] are not the exclusive means by which evidence located abroad may be obtained by West Virginia litigants, the principle of international comity dictates first resort to those procedures until it appears that such attempt has proven fruitless and that further action is necessary to prevent an impasse. McGraw, Justice: In this original proceeding in mandamus the petitioners, Gebr. Eickhoff Maschinenfabrik Und Eisengieberei mbH, a West German corporation, and Eickhoff Corporation, its wholly-owned American subsidiary, seek to compel vacation of a pretrial discovery order entered by Chief Judge Larry V. Starcher of the Circuit Court of Monongalia County. Their contention is that this order, requiring compliance with the West Virginia Rules of Civil Procedure, violates the terms of the Multilateral Convention on the Taking of Evidence Abroad in Civil or Commercial Matters, March 18, 1970, 23 U.S.T. 2555, T.I.A.S. No. 7444 [reprinted in 28 U.S.C.A. § 1781 (Supp. 1984)] [Hague Evidence Convention], to which the United States and the Federal Republic of Germany are both signatories, see 28 U.S.C.A. § 1781, at 88-89 (Supp. 1984). First, the petitioners maintain that the Hague Evidence Convention provides the exclusive means by which evidence situated in the Federal Republic of Germany may be obtained by American litigants. Second, the petitioners argue that, even if the Convention does not supply the sole mechanism for obtaining evidence from West German nationals, the principle of international comity mandates first resort to those procedures prior to the application of American discovery rules. Following a brief recitation of the circumstances that form the basis for this proceeding, we will address each of these issues.