Attack Flashcards
Assess whether the federal suit is valid in a general way:
A valid federal suit is one that satisfies due process. A suit that satisfies due process is one in which the defendant has adequate notice of the proceedings against him and in which the court has personal jurisdiction against the defendant.
Notice must be satisfied under Rule 4 of the FRCP through adequate service of process. Notice also must be constitutional under Mullane. That is, notice must be reasonably calculated under the circumstances to inform the parties of the pending suit and give them an opportunity to be heard.
Personal jurisdiction also must be satisfied for a valid suit to proceed in federal (or state) court. First, there must be statutory authority for the court to exercise personal jurisdiction over the defendant. Typically, in state court, this means that we look at the state’s long arm statute to determine whether the defendant’s actions render him subject to the state’s jurisdiction. Likewise, in federal court, we also typically look to the state’s long arm statute to determine whether the defendant is subject to the court’s jurisdiction. That is because the federal rules authorize personal jurisdiction if authorized by the long arm statute of the state in which the district court is located.
Second, the court, state or federal, must ask: does it comport with constitutional due process to exercise jurisdiction under the long arm statute? If it is, the court has established valid personal jurisdiction over the defendant.
