Personal Jurisdiction Flashcards
Definition of personal jurisdiction
The Court’s power to enter judgment that binds the parties to the case
Two Broad Categories of Personal Jurisdiction
- In Personam (over person)
2. In rem (over property)
The Constitutional Test: What is it? What is it used for?
The minimum Contacts Test. Determining if personal jurisdiction exists over a defendant who is not present in the state
Which Case established the minimum contacts test?
International Shoe; also determined that the level of contacts necessary to sustain jurisdiction would depend on whether the suit arose out of the contacts or if it was unrelated to the contacts.
Minimum Contacts: In Rem?
Shaffer Court: If property was the only contact between defendant and the forum, and the cause of action did not arise directly out of the property a state could not ordinarily exercise jurisdiction over the property of the owner
Two Elements of Minimum Contacts?
WW Volkswagen:
- Purposeful contacts (purposely availed himself to the benefits and protection of the law of the forum state)
- Exercise of jurisdiction must be fair
Fariness factors:
- Burden on the defendant (primary concern)
- interest of the forum adjudicating
- Plaintiff’s interest in obtaining convenient and affective relief
- interest of the interstate judicial system in efficient resolution of controversy
- shared interest in several states in furthering fundamental substantive social policies
*Without contacts, fairness is irrelevant
Minimum Contacts: Contract Cases
McGee: Maintaining a life insurance policy on a California citizen established minimum contacts
Hanson: Unilateral move did not establish contacts; trustee could not cancel trust based on the move
Burger King:
- Merely entering into a contract with a resident of the forum is not enough
- If contract is to be negotiated and/or performed in the forum that in equivalent to purposeful availment
- Not unfair if both are experienced in business
Minimum Contacts: Stream of Commerce
Nicastro: Merely placing goods into the stream of commerce is not enough to subject one to personal jurisdiction. Only exists if defendant engages in other activities specifically directed at the forum.
Minimum Contacts: Internet
Passive Websites: Site may only be viewed…courts very rarely find personal jurisdiction unless clearly directed to a forum state
Active Websites: viewer may input information or enter into a transaction, which clearly establishes a purposeful contact
Personal Jurisdiction: General Jurisdiction
If contacts are substantial and continuing with the forum state, a defendant could be held under personal jurisdiction for a claim unrelated to those contacts
Cases outside Minimum Contacts
- Domicile: If domiciled, court has general jurisdiction over you
- State of Incorporation: General Jurisdiction if corporation is incorporated in said state
- Presence: Burnham split court
- Scalia: Presence is enough
- Brennan: Minimum contacts applies (Must Purposely avail to being in the forum state) - Consent: Unnecessary for the minimum contacts test
- Express Consent: Contracts specifying specific forum
* Forum Selection Clauses: only test, is it fundamentally fair??
* *Carnival cruise only applies to contracts with ships, and forum selection is traditionally governed by state law
Notice: Requirement
Necessary under the Due Process Clause of the 14th Amendment
-Both Contacts and notice are required
Notice: Definition
when plaintiff serves summons with a copy of the complaint
Adequacy of notice:
Service of process must be “reasonably calculated”
- Actual receipt of notice is unnecessary
- Acceptable means (examples): first class mail, secretary of state to deliver, deliver to an adult who works or resides at defendants usual place of residence
- Service by publication: Traditional = OK…Mullane rejects and relax’s that standard
