Personal Jurisdiction Flashcards
What is Personal Jurisdiction?
The power of a sovereign to enter a judgment against a specific defendant or defendant’s property NOT the plaintiff.
Defendant can either:
(1) File a motion to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction OR
(2) Make a “Special Appearance” (Come to court for the sole purpose of challenging personal jurisdiction)
2 Main Steps to personal jurisdiction cases:
(1) Must be consisistent with the State Long-Arm Statutes; AND
(2) Must be consistent with the due process clause of the 14th Amendment
What is a Long-Arm Statute and its 2 Types?
Permits state to obtain jurisdiction (extend its long arms) over person not physically present in state at the time of service.
- General Statutes
- Enumerated Statutes
(1) General Statutes
- Authorizes jurisdiction to the extent it is permitted under the federal Constitution.
(a) If the court in which one is sitting has PJ within its states then there is PJ within the federal court. Rule 4k
(2) Enumerated Statutes
- Articulates the various circumstances under which state courts will be permitted to exercise PJ over a defendant (Can be Unconstitutional)
- If the state’s statute is either stated or interpreted as going to the full extent of the U.S. Constitution then the long-arm statute analysis and the Due process analysis merge.
(2) Must be consistent with Due Process
- In order to have personal jurisdiction over a defendant, he MUST RECEIVE NOTICE of the lawsuit and it must be fair and reasonable.
(a) Proper Service of process = Notice.
i. Non-Resident has to be served within the state
ii. Resident but served outside state is okay.
- 2 steps of the due process analysis:
(a) Are there Minimum Contacts?
(b) Does it offend traditional notions of fair play and substantial justice?
5 Traditional Bases of Jurisdiction:
- Territoriality
i. Pennoyer v. Neff: D was a domicile, served with process in state. - Domiciliary
a. The state has jurisdiction over its domiciliaries regardless of where they are located.b. A person doesn’t lose their domicile until they acquire a new one by:
I. Physical Presence;
ii. Intent to remain there indefinitely. - Agent
a. If an agent acts in the interest of the individual, then he carries jurisdiction. (If a state can get the agent, then they get the person). - Consent
a. Methods of Consent to Personal Jurisdiction:
(1) Express Consent:
Cases: Carnival Cruise and Zapata
(2) Implied Consent:
Cases: Hess v. Pawloski
- Corporate Presence
a. Jurisdiction in the state where a corporation is incorporated and the state where it’s doing business.
- Territoriality
- The state has exclusive jurisdiction over people and property within its borders.
(a) Tag Jurisdiction:
I. Personal service of process in the sovereign is sufficient to establish personal jurisdiction over D.
(Due process requires a non-resident to be within the state where they are getting sued.)
II. The person has to voluntarily enter the state
Case: Grace v. McArthur: serving someone on a flight because they were in the airspace
(b) General Jurisdiction :
I. Being a domiciliary (Living in) of a state is sufficient to bring you under the general jurisdiction of the state.
II. Domiciliary can be served outside of the state. Case: Milliken v. Meyer: Personal jurisdiction over a person domiciled in WY, Sued in WY state court but served in CO.
3 Types of Personal Jurisdiction:
A. To have PJ over D, the court must have power over 1 of 2 things:
I. Over D themselves; OR
II. Over D’s property.
- In Personam
- In Rem
- Quasi-In-Rem
- In Personam PJ
(A). Court has power over D who:
- Is domiciled in that state; OR
- Maintains minimum contacts with that state – BUT cannot offend traditional notions of fair play and Substantial justice.
- Is personally served in that court’s territorial jurisdiction; OR
- When an agent of that D is present in the state when served with service of process; OR
- Voluntarily appear or consent to the jurisdiction.
(B). NOTICE is REQUIRED.
- In Rem
(A). A court has power over the defendant’s real or personal property if:
- D has property within the State’s territory; OR
- Seizure or attachment of property gives owner notice: OR
- Notice by publication is acceptable if D’s location is unknown.
- Quasi-In-Rem
(A). A court has power over the rights of an individual but only to the extent of the value of the property:
- Needs property attachment: a legal proceeding when a person gets an order or is put on notice of their property being seized.
- Notice by publication is acceptable if D’s location is unknown.
Are there Minimum Contacts?
(A) There’s personal jurisdiction if there is such minimum contacts with the forum and jurisdiction does not offend traditional notions of fair play and substantial justice.
- Continuous and systematic contacts with the state + a cause of action that arose from those contacts = Always have general jurisdiction! (Int’l Shoe)
- Continuous and systematic contact with the state + a cause of action that doesn’t arise from those contacts = Always have general jurisdiction (RARE, Contacts have to be SO substantial that it’s regarded as home) (Perkins)
- Isolated and sporadic contact with the state + a cause of action that arises from those contacts = Possibly have specific jurisdiction (Depends on the nature of the conduct). (Hess v. Pawloski)
- Isolated and sporadic contact with the state (Casual Presence) + a cause of action that doesn’t arise from those contacts = Never have Jurisdiction. (Hanson v. Dencla)
Does jurisdiction offend traditional notions of fair play and substantial justice?
5 Part-Analysis
- Burden on D while always a primary concern, will in an appropriate case be considered in light of other relevant factors.
- Forum State’s interest in adjudicating the dispute
- P’s interest in obtaining convenient and effective relief
- Interstate Judicial system’s interstate in obtaining the most efficient resolution of controversies.
- Shared interstate in the several states In furthering fundamental substantive social policies.
