Court Dismisses Antitrust Suit Against OPEC for Lack of Proper Service

In Freedom Watch Inc. v. Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, District of Columbia Judge Reggie B. Walton dismissed the latest antitrust lawsuit against the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, holding that plaintiff Freedom Watch, Inc. did not properly serve OPEC.  In its suit, Freedom Watch accused OPEC of violating U.S. law by fixing oil export prices.  In dismissing the suit, the court held that based on a previous Eleventh Circuit decision, there is essentially no way to legally serve OPEC unless it consented to being sued.  The court stated that plaintiff’s service of OPEC by serving its U.S. attorneys was improper because OPEC never authorized the firm to accept service of process on its behalf and specifically opted not to authorize its attorneys to do so in the current case.  Freedom Watch previously attempted to sue OPEC in 2008, but a Florida District Court also dismissed its suit for lack of proper service.  In that case, Freedom Watch tried to serve OPEC by handing the summons and complaint to an Austrian police officer who did not work for OPEC, at a reception desk at OPEC’s headquarters; then mailing the same documents to OPEC’s headquarters through the Austrian postal system from a Vienna hotel without any option for return receipt.

Post a Comment

Your email is never published nor shared. Required fields are marked *

*
*