Civ Pro Flashcards
Personal Jurisdiction: GENERAL
The power of a court to exercise control over a particular person or item of property.
Types of PJ
- In personam
- In rem
- Quasi in Rem
PJ: IN PERSONAM; General
Jurisdiction over D by virtue of D’s RELATIONSHIP W/ FORUM STATE.
PJ: IN REM & QUASI IN REM; General
D owns property in forum state.
PJ: LIMITATIONS: General
- Statutory
- AND Constitutional
PJ: CONSTITUTIONAL LIMITATIONS
Originate from DPC of 14A.
· “A state shall NOT deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, WITHOUT DP of law.
T4: D MUST HAVE minimum contacts w/ the forum state such that it would be fair to force the D to defend a lawsuit there. – International Shoe
AKA: Minimum Contacts Test
–> Cannot demonstrate min. contacts? Court may NOT exercise personal jurisdiction over D.
PJ: STATUTORY LIMITATIONS
A court MAY NOT exercise personal jurisdiction over a D UNLESS a statute exists in the forum state that explicitly authorizes the court the exercise of PJ over the particular D.
PJ Analysis
- Is there a statutory basis for PJ?
- Would it be CONSTITUTIONAL for that court to exercise PJ? OR Does D have min. contacts?
Statutory Sources for PJ
- Physical presence in the forum state @ service w/ process;
- Domicile;
- Consent;
- Waiver;
- Long-Arm Statute
Statutory Sources for PJ: PHYSICAL PRESENCE
If the D is present in the forum state when served w/ process = will be subject to PJ.
· via Burnham: A court can exercise jurisdiction over a D even if that D is only in the state for a short period
· Doesn’t matter if:
–> D is resident; NOR
–> How long D had been or will be in the state
Domicile: Home State
· For individuals by residence, citizenship, and domicile EVEN IF the D is absent from the state at the time of the suit.
· For corporations by the state of incorporation OR where the corporation conducts its principal operations.
Statutory Sources for PJ: DOMICILE
D is always subject to PJ in HOME STATE.
Statutory Sources for PJ; CONSENT
D may consent to a court’s PJ by:
· Voluntarily appearing in the forum state’s court; AND
· Submitting himself to jurisdiction
Consent can be EXPRESS OR IMPLIED.
· Express: Forum-Selection Clause in K
· Implied: Driving on Roads & MA statute saying that creates implied consent to jurisdiction.
Statutory Sources for PJ: WAIVER
D acts in a way that is inconsistent with his argument that the forum lacks a basis for asserting PJ.
Long-Arm Statutes
State law allowing the state’s courts to exercise jurisdiction over out-of-state/nonresident Ds.
Types of Long-Arm Statutes
- Limited or enumerated: specific acts or circumstances; and
- Unlimited or unenumerated: K Max
–> If UNLIMITED: K analysis
K A for Jurisdiction
- Purposeful Availment;
- Minimum contacts; and
- Fairness Balancing.
K Limitations: Minimum Contacts
Depends upon the “quality and nature of the activity;”
·T4: two issues that court must address as a threshold matter:
1. Whether the contact w/ the forum state is continuous and systematic; OR
2. Whether the D’s claim arises out of the contact w/ the forum state.
International Shoe
DP requires only that, in order to subject a D to a judgment in personam, if he be not present w/in the territory of the forum, he have a certain minimum contacts w/ it such that the maintenance of the suit does not offend “traditional notions of fair play and substantial justice.”
Minimum Contacts: GENERAL IN PERSONAM JURISDICTION
D’s contact w/ forum is continuous and systematic REGARDLESS of whether the claim arises out of the D’s contact w/ the forum.
Minimum Contacts: SPECIFIC IN PERSONAM JURISDICTION
D’s contact w/ forum is isolated and sporadic, then the claim MUST arise out of the D’s contact w/ forum state.
–> REQUIRES that the D’s contact w/ the forum state be PURPOSEFUL AND INTENTIONAL
–> NOT fortuitous or unintended
–> Courts REQUIRE some purposeful connection b/w the D and the forum state LIKE wrongful conduct directed at individuals OR intentional receipt of some SIGNIFICANT benefit from the forum state.
Minimum Contacts Test
Two prongs:
1. D MUST have purposefully availed herself of the law and benefits of the forum state (TF not accidental or inadvertent); and
2. Foreseeability (D must have known OR reasonably anticipated that activities in the forum made it foreseeable they may be hauled into court there.)
Purposeful Availment & Stream of Commerce
Requires the D contacts be purposefully directed toward the forum state.
· NOT SUFFICIENT that the foreign manufacturer targeted the US market
· MUST target the state specifically.
Minimum Contacts: Foreseeability
NOT the mere likelihood that the product will find its way into the forum state.
· D’s conduct AND connection w/ the forum MUST be such that he should reasonably anticipate being haled into court there.
Personal Jurisdiction: Fairness
Exercising PJ over the D MUST comply with traditional notions of fair play and substantial justice.
Personal Jurisdiction: Fairness: FIVE FACTORS
- Burden on the D;
- Interests of the forum state in the litigation;
- Interest of the P in litigating the matter in that state;
- Interstate efficiency; and
- interstate policy interests.
–> NOT SUFFICIENT by themselves to sustain a finding of personal jurisdiction.
In Rem Jurisdiction
A judgment that binds the entire world as to the future disposition of PROPERTY ONLY
· NOT the individuals parties to the suit
· Includes anyone who MAY have an interest in the land
· K so long as property is located in jurisdiction AND NOT BROUGHT THERE BY FRAUD OR TRICK.
Quasi In Rem Jurisdiction
If named property is w/in jurisdiction, court can hear EVEN IF the court does NOT have in personam jurisdiction.
· Only adjudicates the rights to the named property as b/w the parties to the suit
–> NOT as against the entire world
Quasi In Rem Jurisdiction: Types
- Type 1: COA and Property relate
- Type 2: P may sue on a personal claim AND ATTACH the property to satisfy his claim against the property’s owner EVEN IF the P’s claim is UNRELATED to the property.
–> MUST STISFY the minimum contacts test from International Shoe
–> Ownership of the property in the forum state is NOT ENOUGH to satisfy test
Subject Matter Jurisdiction
The power of FEDERAL courts to hear certain kinds of cases OR to exercise authority over certain kinds of disputes.
· If at ANY POINT during the case, a federal court finds that it LACKS SMJ, it MUST DISMISS the case.
· While Congress CANNOT EXPAND SMJ, they can make it narrower.
Diversity Jurisdiction: GENERAL
Federal district courts shall have jurisdiction over civil actions b/w citizens of different states where the amount in controversy exceeds the sum of $75k.
· COMPLETE DIVERSITY is required by SCOTUS
Simple Diversity
Satisfied when one P is a citizen of a different state than at least one D.
· AKA K Diversity
Complete Diversity
NO P can be a citizen of the same state as ANY D.
· Does NOT matter if Ps or Ds have same citizenship but Ps CANNOT share citizenship with ANY D.