Final statement from Eric C. Grimm att www.eff.org

Welcome to a web site devoted to Classic Volvo Automobiles.

We owe our total existence to Eric Grimm & CO at the Electronic Frontier Foundation. Eric has put in a LOT of work in order to solve our legal battle with FoMoCo and his financial reward was unfortunately zero. If you have anything to spare, donate it to Eric. Use the PayPal button below! If you have questions about donating, please e-mail me.
Read the final statement, below, from Eric about this law-rally!

A final statement from Eric C. Grimm at www.eff.org (May 2002)

"Please be aware that FORD motor company
tried its "in rem" trick with respect to 29 other owners -- all of whom,
like you, had never been served. "Served" means the delivery of Summons
in accordance with the Hague Convention on the Service Abroad
of Judicial and Extrajudicial Documents in Civil or Commercial Matters
(international defendants) or Rule 4 of the Federal Rules of Civil
Procedure (US defendants). Without proper service of summons, the court
cannot take jurisdiciton. After a certain time, dismissal is mandatory
if the plaintiff cannot be bothered to perform service.

But FORD tried to circumvent the rules that apply to everyone else by
attempting its "in rem" trick for the 30 non-served Defendants.

The Electronic Frontier Foundation pointed out to the judge in at least
two different filings in 2001 that FORD's "in rem" strategy was
unlawful. On December 20, 2001, the Judge agreed that the "in rem"
strategy was unlawful, and refused to proceed on that ground.

But on the same date, the Judge DENIED another motion by the EFF --
which sought complete dismissal as to everyone (you and the other 29)
who had never actually been served. Judge was not ready then to grant
the EFF's Motion. We have no idea why.

But the EFF kept fighting for what was right. First, in February 2002,
FORD simply dismissed all claims against you (Hans Rekestad). FORD did
this unilaterally, and there was no promise that you or the EFF ever
made in exchange for dismssal. We just made it clear that FORD's
attempt to keep you in the case was bogus and that we would teach FORD a
lesson if FORD did not leave you alone.

On the subject of the 29 other "never served" owners, the EFF filed
another brief, pointing out Judge Cleland's mandatory duty (for lawyers:
Fed. R. Civ. P. 4(m)) to dismiss ALL 29 defendants that were situated
like you (Hans Rekestad).

In early May, Judge Cleland issued a ruling in which he agreed with the
EFF. He ordered FORD to show cause as to why all 29 of these claims
should not be dismissed out of the lawsuit.

Yesterday was FORD's "show cause" deadline. FORD responded to the "show
cause" order with a Notice of Dismissal. This means that FORD
essentially concedes the point that the EFF made. That dismisal of all
these people was mandatory.

FORD has voluntarily dismissed all 30 of the "never served" defendants.

This is a big victory for the EFF."

ECG

Most of the web material from the battle with FoMoCo does still exist.
If you want access to it, please contact us via e-mail and we will guide you to it.