Q: Can I sue Alibaba or the supplier in China
I recently ordered ebikes from Alibaba with trade assurance guarantee. Items were delivered to my China warehouse damaged. I filed a dispute but they are not accepting a return nor providing a discount or send a refund. There are so many frauds. I am a complete victim with proof. How can I fight with this?
A:
As a general rule of thumb, you can file a lawsuit naming anyone, including a business entity, as a defendant. To sue Alibaba, or another foreign company, here in California you would need to be able to establish jurisdiction over all of the defendants just to bring them into court. If you have an agreement with Alibaba it might specify where you must file a lawsuit against it and what law would apply to any claims. Commercial disputes can also be covered by arbitration agreements.
Of course, that would just be the first step to figuring out how start a lawsuit, and you would still need to prevail, which depends on many facts that are not clear from your question. You should contact an attorney who specializes in commercial litigation, which is the general term for business disputes, who could advise you of whether you could or should attempt a lawsuit against Alibaba.
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