In Personam Jurisdiction Flashcards
what pj law do federal courts follow
federal courts follow the pj law of the states in which they sit
is there variation state to state for pj
some variation, but not much
what are the 2 types of in personam jurisdiction
general and specific
what is general in personam
plaintiff can assert any claim whatsoever, even if it is unrelated to the defendant’s contacts with the forum state
what is specific in personam
plaintiff’s claims against the defendant must arise out of - or directly relate to - the defendant’s contacts with the forum
what is specific in personam governed by
governed by state’s long arm statute which stretch farrrrrrr
what are common bases for general in personam (4)?
1) physical presence
2) domicile
3) consent
4) corporations that are “at home”
how does physical presence within the state allow for general in personam?
service of process on the defendant while she is physically present in the state
what are the exceptions to gaining general in personam through physical presence within the state
if a person was in the state only to answer a summons OR if the persons are brought to the state by force or fraud
how is domicile a basis for general in personam j
remember domicile is where one resides with intent to remain indefinitely (independent of physical presence)
how does consent become a basis for general in personam
expressly (yes id be delighted) or impliedly (by not raising the issue)
can consent be given by contract
yes as long as the terms are reasonable, or by appointment of an in state agent for receiving service of process
what about corporations
can consent to personal j just like individuals, but the rules regarding physical presence are a little different
is merely doing business in a state enough to support general j for a corp
no
what must be true for a corp to have general j based on physical presence
they must be “at home” in the forum state
what does it mean to be “at home”
same as how to figure out their citizenship: the state of incorporation and the state where the corp has its principal place of business
what are some common bases for specific in personam jurisdiction [these are the most common you should list if it applies on day 1, but know that for Virginia it is pretty much anything and you can sparse it out from the fact pattern]
an act or omission in the state causing injury to a person or property here or elsewhere; an act or omission outside of the state causing injury to a person or property in the state, provided that the defendant conducted activities here or introduced goods into the flow of commerce; any claim arising out of a contract to perform services in the state or to pay someone in the actual state to perform services elsewhere, or out of the actual performance of such services; any claim arising out of a contract to ship goods to or from the state, or arising out of the shipment of such goods; any claim regarding local property
can federal courts assert broader pj
generally fed courts follow the state long arm statutes of the states in which they sit, but they can assert broader pj in specific cases
what are the (3) circumstances where federal court can assert broader pj
1)federal interpleader act
2)the bulge provision of the federal rules
3) unusual provision of a foreign defendant
what is the federal interpleader act (statutory interpleader)
authorizes nationwide service of process which establishes pj anywhere in the US ( a state cannot make a similar provision authorizing nationwide service of process)
What is the Bulge Provision?
Allows a federal court to exercise personal jurisdiction over certain parties who have been joined to a case if those parties are within 100-miles of the court even if they are located in another state
This done for: impleading 3rd party defendants AND for joining necessary parties
what happens when a defendant is not subject to pj in any state court
very rare, most relevant to foreign defendants with no particular contact with a particular state
allows the suit to be brought in federal court, so long as there are minimum contacts with the US as a whole
