Court Authorizes Letter of Request for Written Interrogatories to HD Hyundai Heavy Industries Co., Ltd. Under Hague Convention in M/V DALI Limitation Action

Matter of Grace Ocean Priv. Ltd., No. CV JKB-24-0941, 2025 WL 2483227 (D. Md. Aug. 28, 2025).

By Arthur A. Crais, Adjunct Professor of Law

            The State of Maryland filed a Motion for a Letter of Request to the Director of International Affairs of the National Court Administration of the Republic of Korea seeking a deposition by written interrogatories to HD Hyundai Heavy Industries Co., Ltd. (HHI) which designed and built M/V DALI. This was the second such request issued to HHI in the pending litigation and which the court noted did respond to.[1]

            The limitation petitioner, Grace Ocean Private Limited objected to the 98 questions and requested leave to conduct oral cross examination. That company also had filed suit in federal court in the U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Pennsylvania against HHI and anticipated HHI would object to personal jurisdiction.[2]

            The Magistrate held this was not good cause to deny the motion and noted that though the State preferred oral examination, HHI asserted it cannot be subpoenaed in the U.S. for trial or any other purposes.

            A copy of the opinion is attached.

[1] Matter of Grace Ocean Priv. Ltd., 2025 WL 2483227 at *1.

[2] Id.