Luxottica Group SpA v. Lee (D. Mass. 21-cv-10934).

Sunglasses maker Luxottica, which owns trademarks for RAY-BAN glasses, sued Young Kil Lee on June 4, 2021, accusing him of selling counterfeit Ray-Ban glasses through his City Jewelry retail store in Worcester.  Lee moved to dismiss the complaint for lack of personal jurisdiction and insufficient service of process.  Judge Hillman denied these motions without prejudice, pending jurisdictional discovery.  The summons was served on an individual other than Lee at the store on June 14th.  Lee made a special appearance to contest personal jurisdiction and service of the complaint.  Lee relied on an affidavit form the individual served that indicated that Lee is on a mission trip in Central America and has been since before the filing of the Complaint.  He further says that the sheriff had not served him personally, and even if he had been so served he lacks authority to accept service on behalf of Lee.  Judge Hillman agreed that service was not proper, as it was not made in accordance with Massachusetts law and, to the extent Lee was abroad, in compliance with the Hague Convention.  He quashed service, but refused to dismiss the complaint because the time for properly effecting service has not yet run.  Luxottica has another 44 days to serve the complaint, and might obtain extensions for good cause shown (and, to the extent Lee has permanently moved to Central America, there is no set time limit for service).  He further denied the motion to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction, also without prejudice, noting that Lee had refused to state whether he was returning to Massachusetts or had permanently left the state.  He further expressed concern that Lee was being cagey about his current whereabouts in an attempt to dodge service.  He allowed Luxottica to conduct depositions of the individual who had been served and another employee of City Jewelry to try to ascertain the status of Lee’s residence.