Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd v Reed (No 2)

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd applied for leave to serve a number of documents on the respondents, who are citizens of the United States of America, by substituted service under r 10.49 of the Federal Court Rules 2011 (Cth) by emailing them to the respondents’ lawyers’ email addresses. The applicants had previously been granted leave to serve documents out of the jurisdiction. They were unable to serve the documents on the respondents despite reasonable attempts to effect personal service on them. The applicants submitted that there was no reasonable explanation why the respondents’ foreign lawyers were not authorised to accept service. The court was required to determine whether substituted service by email was permissible in these circumstances. The court held that substituted service by email was an appropriate means of service in these circumstances. It found that the applicants had made reasonable attempts to serve the respondents personally, but without success. It also found that there was no reasonable explanation for the respondents’ lawyers not being authorised to accept service, as they had previously been authorised to accept service in a related proceeding. The court held that the respondents had not shown that they would be prejudiced by the proposed substituted service by email. It granted leave for the documents to be served by emailing them to the respondents’ lawyers’ email addresses. The documents would be taken to have been served upon receipt by the respondents’ lawyers. The costs of the interlocutory application were reserved.