Cruz Vs. Fagor America, Inc. Case Study

588 Words3 Pages
Allison Gibson February 21, 2011 BLaw 3201—Sec. 3 Case Brief One CRUZ vs. FAGOR AMERICA, INC. California Court of Appeal, Fourth District, Division 1, 2007 52 Cal. Rptr.3d 862 146 Cal.App.4th 488 FACTS: On September 10, 2001, Cruz, 16, suffered burns on his left torso and thigh when taking the top off a pressure cooker that his parents bough at a San Diego County Fair earlier that summer. Fagor America, Inc. (Fagor) was the distributor of the pressure cooker. Cruz’s parents notified Fagor of the incident by e-mail that same day that is occurred. Fagor forwarded the complaint to its insurance broker who forwarded it to Fagor’s general liability insurer. The insurance company notified Cruz on June 2, 2003 that it was not assuming…show more content…
DECISION: No. The appellate court agreed with Cruz that the trail court was wrong in determining that Cruz ineffectually presented Fagor with valid service of process. It also concurred with Cruz on the issue of extrinsic mistake and equitable relief. REASON: Cruz complied with the requirements for proof of service to an out-of-state corporation “by sending a copy of the summons and of the complaint to the person to be served by first-class mail, postage prepaid, requiring a return receipt”. Cruz also complied with the requirements to send a summons and complaint to a corporation by sending it to the president of Fagor, Patricio Barriga. The return receipt signed by Tina Hayes, who is authorized to accept mail on Barriga’s behalf, also suffices the requirements for satisfactory proof of service. The appellate court found no requirement that the return receipt be signed by the defendant. Fagor did not present a legitimate excuse for not answering the original action, nor did Fagor diligently try to set aside the default once it learned of it. Fagor failed to fulfill two of the three conditions to apply for equitable relief on the basis of extrinsic mistake. Therefore, the trail court erred in granting equitable relief to

More about Cruz Vs. Fagor America, Inc. Case Study

Open Document