Personal Jurisdiction Flashcards
Determining Personal Jurisdiction
A federal district court must generally determine personal jurisdiction as if it were a court of the state in which it is situated. Thus, the federal court will look to state jurisdictional statutes to determine if it has personal jurisdiction. Many state’s have long-arm statute that permit its courts to exercise personal jurisdiction to “the maximum extent allowed by the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution.” The Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment permits a court to exercise personal jurisdiction over a defendant if the defendant has “minimum contacts” with the forum state such that the maintenance of the action does not offend traditional notions of fair play and substantial justice. A defendant’s contacts with the forum state must be purposeful and substantial, such that the defendant should reasonably foresee being taken to court there. Foreseeability depends on whether a defendant recognizes or anticipates that by running his business, he risks being party to a suit in a particular state.
Specific Jurisdiction
When a cause of action arises out of or closely relates to a defendant’s contact with the forum state, jurisdiction may be warranted over that action even if that contact is the defendant’s only contact with the forum state. This type of jurisdiction is often referred to as “specific personal jurisdiction.” For specific personal jurisdiction to exist, there must be an affiliation between the forum and the underlying controversy, activity or an occurrence that takes place in the forum State and is therefore subject to the State’s regulation.
General Jurisdiction
To determine whether the corporation is subject to general personal jurisdiction, the proper inquiry is whether a corporation’s affiliations with the forum state are so “continuous and systematic” as to render the corporation essentially “at home” in the forum state. A corporate defendant is always at home in the state of the corporation’s place of incorporation and the state of its principal place of business. In exceptional cases, a corporate defendant’s operations in another forum may be so substantial and of such a nature as to render the corporation also at home in that state.
