Personal Jurisdiction Flashcards
Personal Jurisdiction Overview - What does it Involve?
PJ involves the court’s ability to exercise authority over parties or their property
Core Concept is Fairness
PJ Analysis
Must be statutorily authorized and constitutional
Statutory: An applicable long-arm statute
Constitutional (satisfy due process)
1) Minimum Contact with the forum state
2) Adequate Notice: Parties must receive adequate notice of the action and an opportunity to be heard
In Personam PJ
Jx over persons
Court may render judgment (money or injunction) against an individual based on contacts with the forum state
In Rem PJ
JX over property or status, including ownership disputes
Court adjudicates rights of parties with respect to property located in forum state (judgment is binding as to disposition of property rights or status, not as to parties personally)
Often involves estate issues, business proceedings, property disputes (e.g. action to quiet title)
Quasi in Rem
Permits a court without PJ to determine certain types of disputes between P and D when property is located in the forum state
- Property is attached for some reason not necessarily involving property itself
- Court may render judgment as to persons with respect to property
Constitutional Limitations on Personal Jurisdiction - General
To be subject to PJ, D must have such minimum contacts with the forum state that exercising jx does not offend traditional notions of fair play and substantial justice
Constitutional Limitations on Personal Jurisdiction - Analysis
Minimum Contacts, Relatedness, Fairness
Minimum Contacts - What Constitutes Minimum Contacts? (2 Requirements)
1) Purposeful Availment: D must purposefully avail herself of forum state’s laws, i.e. reach out in a non-accidental manner
2) Foreseeability: D must know or reasonably anticipate that she could be held accountable for her activities in the forum state`
Circumstances that May Give Rise to Min Contacts - Website
Interactive sites are more likely to have requisite minimum contacts; passive sites less likely
Circumstances that May Give Rise to Min Contacts - Putting Goods into the Stream of Commerce
Manufacturers may be held liable if they could reasonably expect consumers to purchase their products in forum state
- Mere awareness that component parts may reach forum as part of another product is insufficient
Circumstances that May Give Rise to Min Contacts - Targeting the Forum State
Increasingly, the SCT has equated minimum contacts with a targeting of the forum state. This requires some deliberate activity within and cultivation of the state
Fairness Factor - General
Due process requires that the exercise of jx must be fair (i.e. must not offend traditional notions of fair play and substantial justice)
Fairness Factors (3)
1) Relatedness of Contacts & Claim: does P’s claim arise from D’s contacts with the forum state?
2) Convenience: Would jx in forum severely disadvantage D? (must be so inconvenient and difficult that D is inherently put at severe disadvantage compared to P
3) State’s interests: Does forum state have an interest in allocating its limited resources to hearing this matter?
Consent - General
Express or implied consent by the D can also establish personal jx
Consent - Forum Selection Clause
Most common form of consent
- Courts enforce these clauses unless the selected forum is remote and alien to the parties/transaction
Note: Ensure that D is a party to the K and the clause falls within the scope of the clause
Consent - Waiving the Objection
D can also consent to jx by waiving the objection
- D must raise the objection with their first appearance and litigate it promptly
Personal Service - General
If D is personally served, they are likely to subject to personal jx within the forum state
Note: Personal jx can be established through personal service even if the D’s presence is transient and unrelated to the suit
Personal Service - 3 Recognized Exceptions
1) Fraud: a D who is served after being lured into the forum under false pretenses
2) Force: D who is served after being brought involuntarily into the forum by force
3) Witness: A D who is served while responding to a court subpoena
Personal Service - 3 Recognized Exceptions
1) Fraud: a D who is served after being lured into the forum under false pretenses
2) Force: D who is served after being brought involuntarily into the forum by force
3) Witness: A D who is served while responding to a court subpoena
Notice Requirements - General
Due process requires that D must be sufficiently notified of a pending lawsuit
Notice Requirements - Requirement
Notice must be reasonably calculated under the circumstances to apprise interested parties of the pendency of the action and afford an opportunity to be heard
