Adjudicative Jurisdiction Flashcards
According to Pennoyer v. Neff - must a party who has no connection with a state other than ownership of property there be subjected to its courts jurisdiction?
No, a state may not exercise personal jx. over a nonresident on the basis of property ownership alone. A courts power over a person must be established before a judgment is rendered or it will be void
What does the Due process clause say about a court’s jurisdiction?
no person is subject to the jurisdiction of a court unless they voluntarily appear in the court, are found within the forum state, they reside in the forum state, or have property in the forum state the court has attached.
How does each state have jurisdictional power?
Each state has exclusive jurisdiction and sovereignty over persons and property within its territory. States have power to adjudicate the rights of people inside their border, so generally a state’s jurisdictional power does not extend beyond its territory.
when might a state’s exercise of jurisdictional authority within its borders have effects elsewhere?
When a state may take over contractual issues related to land in another state, but not the land itself.
How must a state handle other states judgments when there wasn’t jurisdiction?
States must give judgement rendered in other states full faith and credit but could still inquire into the jx of the ruling because enforcement of a judgment rendered by a court without jx would deny due process.
According to International Shoe - for a corporate defendant not present within the territory of a forum to be subjected to a judgment in personam, does due process require that the defendant have a certain amount of minimum contacts with the forum such that the maintenance of the suit does not offend traditional notions of fair play and substantial justice?
Yes, because a corporation is deemed to be present in a state for jurisdictional purposes when the activities of the corporation in that state have been continuous and systematic.
What is the purpose of the due process clause?
It ensures fairness and orderly administration of law - acts as an instrument of interstate federalism. Gives a degree of predictability to the legal system that allows potential defendants to structure their primary conduct with some minimum assurance as to where that conduct will and will not potentially render them liable.
When is due process violated?
when a state makes a binding judgment in personam against an individual or corporate defendant with which the state has no contacts, ties, or relations at all.
What does due process require?
Requires that a defendant have sufficient minimum contacts with a state such that suing there does not offend traditional notions of fair play and substantial justice.
Will service by publication be effective for proceedings In Rem?
yes, where the owner will be made aware of the proceedings by the seizure of their property
BUT not for in personam actions.
When can quasi-in-rem jx. be asserted?
when the interests of the persons in the property seized have sufficient contacts, ties, or relations to the state.
Must there be sufficient contacts between the state and the interest of the defendants in the property seized before a court can exercise quasi-in-rem jx?
Yes, because quasi-in-rem jx. may only be exercised over a peron if the interests of the person in the things seized meet the minimum contacts standard.
Shaffer v. Heitner (facts)
QUASI IN REM JX
A shareholder derivative suit in DE agaisnt greyhound alleging acts that took place in OR. A sequestration order argued that it violated due process rights and that the property seized was not capable of attachment in DE.
Shaffer v. Heitner (holding)
QUASI IN REM JX
the property seized was statutorily located in DE but it did not have any relation to the subject matter of the litigation.
The defendants had nothing to do with the state of DE, their only connection to it was thtat they had accepted employment in a company incorproated in DE.
This does not mean that a DE court has jx. over them
Pennoyer v. Neff (facts)
PERSONAL JX HISTORY
Hire for legal work but failed to pay, so there was suit that was filed in an OR state court. The person who failed to pay was not a resident of the forum state or personally served with process in that state but the legal worker still published notice of the summons locally. After the person who failed to pay then failed to appear in court, default judgment was entered against him. Shortly thereafter, through and auction the legal worker took title to the tract of land that was the other person’s in OR
