SHEP Writer

Civil Procedure — Personal Jurisdiction

The Out-of-State Widget

Pat, a small manufacturer based entirely in State A, sold 200 specialized industrial widgets over three years to a single distributor in State B, shipping them there under contracts Pat negotiated by phone and email with the State B buyer. One widget allegedly malfunctioned and injured a worker, Reese, in State B, who now sues Pat there. Pat has never physically visited State B and has no office or employees there.

Law. A court may exercise specific personal jurisdiction over a nonresident consistent with due process only if the defendant has minimum contacts with the forum such that the suit does not offend traditional notions of fair play and substantial justice (International Shoe). The contacts must reflect purposeful availment — a deliberate reaching into the forum to conduct or solicit business — so the defendant could anticipate being haled into court there, and the claim must arise out of or relate to those contacts. Even then, jurisdiction must be reasonable, weighing the burden on the defendant, the forum state's interest, and the plaintiff's interest in relief.

In two or three short paragraphs, analyze whether the State B court may exercise specific personal jurisdiction over Pat.

multi-paragraph · ≤ 250 words