Personal Jurisdiction Flashcards
What is personal jurisdiction?
The cts power over the person/entity you are suing.
- tells you the state in which you can sue
What do fed cts look at to determine whether they have PJ over a pty?
The ct looks at:
- state law for which the case sits AND
- federal constitutional law
What is the process in step 1, looking to the state cts?
Ask whether a state ct in the same state would assert PJ over that pty
- YES - then the fed ct may do so as well subject to constitutional restrictions
- NO - the fed ct can’t do it
- EXCEPTION
- Fed judges have the authority to tell anyone in America what to do even though Congress elected to decide to determine PJ based on state law
- EXCEPTION
What is required for step 2 in determining PJ (whether the application of state law is constitutional)?
PJ will be constitutional in 5 situations:
- Residency
- Consent
- Service
- Minimum Contacts
- Substantial Business
PJ Rarely Causes Servere Mental Strain
What is residency?
- Human Beings
- if they live here
- Corporations
- of the state(s) where it is incorporated AND
- place of the headquarters
- Other entities
- state where they maintain a headquarters of PPB
How does consent work in PJ?
- Appearance
- a pty appears in ct w/o objnecting to PJ
- must object to PJ in its initial filing or appearance
- Contract
- ptys can put a choice of forum in their K
- Appointment
- in exchange for the right to do business in a state, some states require businesses to consent to PJ in that state
How do you service to obtain PJ?
If D is served w/in the state “tag”
- cannot coax or lore the person into the state
- cannot tag if they are in the state for another legal/judicial proceeding
What are the elements for minimum contacts test for PJ?
- That D has established minimum contacts with the forum state
- the claim against D arises from that contact AND
- Jurisdiction will not offend traditional notions of fair play and substantial justice
When does someone establish minimum contacts with a place?
D has minimum contact with a state if:
- he causes harm in the state
- does business in the state OR
- has an interest in real property in the state
D does not have to be in the state to do this just that his contact was:
- purposefully established/purposefully availed
What does it mean for a lawsuit to arise from D’s minimum contacts?
Arises form if the contact played a role in causing the lawsuit
What is meant by fair play & substantial justice?
The ct should consider:
- the forum state’s interest in obtain redress for its harm
- FIXX
How do you get PJ through substantial business/general jurisdiction?
Jurisdicition is constitutionally permissible in a particular state where a business does a massive amount of business
- it has to be so significant that the company is essentially at home
- do not confuse with citizenship/nerve test/PPB
