Civil Procedure I Outline

Civil Procedure

Martin

Fall 2012

Personal Jurisdiction

Generally

· Definitions and concepts

o PJ: power of the court to bind someone to the suit

o Full faith and credit: treat a judgment of another state’s court like it is a judgment of your own

o State Sovereignty- Personal jurisdiction ends at it boundaries

o Long Arm Statute – statute that extends jurisdiction to non-residents

· Policy reasons why courts impose jurisdictional limits

o People can’t forum shop

o Fewer frivolous law suits

o State sovereignty

· Kinds of PJ

o In personam: jurisdiction based on the person

o In rem – based on property and the lawsuit has to be about the property itself

o Quasi in rem- property but lawsuit is not about the property; uses property to get the jurisdiction

§ Attachment is required (Pennoyer v. Neff)

· Rules for PJ

o Determining Personal Jurisdiction

§ 1. Is it authorized? – they have to have jurisdiction over you (is there a LAS)

· Rule 4k1A: Borrowing Statute (if can have PJ in state court, you can have PJ in Fed court)

· Rule 4k1B: Bulge (100 miles)— Rule 14 and rule 19 cases (third parties)

o National residence theory: you can sue in whatever jurisdiction you reside in à if US citizen, you can be sued in any jurisdiction that Congress says

§ Stafford v. Briggs (193): National Contacts

· Rule 4k1C: when authorized by Fed Statute

· Rule 4k2: If no state can sue you

o Omni Capital International v. Ruldolf (192)

§ Investor brought private action in a LA fed district court against Omni Capital International

§ Wolff and Gourlay were not present in LA

§ Foreign defendants doing business in the US might not be amenable to service of process in any particular state and thus would be unaccountable in the US for alleged violations of federal law

§ 2. Is it constitutional? 14th and 5th amendments (Due Process Clause)?

Residence

· Domiciled (true home)

· In personam – physically present and personally served.

Property

· In remà about property itself à that establishes MC

o Three Requirements (Tyler and Pennington)

§ 1. Has to be a thing that the lawsuit is about

§ 2. That res/thing has to be in the forum state because the power of the court is limited to property in its borders (state sovereignty)

§ 3. Lawsuit is technically against a class of people and not just one person (Tyler 158)

· In re piece of chalk (about that piece of chalk)

· I don’t know how claims to be the owner of this chalk….if you think you own this chalk, then you are required to go to the chalk

· Can name people but also name any other people (binds the worldà anyone who thinks owns the chalk)

o Tyler v. Judges of the Court of Registration (158)- Unknown claims

§ P sought writ of prohibition against judges of the Court of Registration to prevent their passing upon an application to register title to a parcel of land which petitioner claimed an interest

§ Published in a newspaper, posted on the land, and mailed to adjoining owners and all persons known to have an adverse interest

§ Unknown claims – whether they are proceedings or rights in rem depends on the number of person affected

§ In rem actions

· Quasi in rem à minimum contacts + attach the property at the beginning (Shaffer)

o Requirements

§ Law suits don’t have to be about the thing

§ Res needs to be in the state

§ Not against a class of people, against individuals (against Neff in Pennoyer)

§ You have to attach the property first (need to make sure property is within the jurisdiction) (Pennoyer)

§ Not challenging the defendant’s right to the property, but rather using the property belonging to defendant as a jurisdictional vehicle for litigating a claim unrelated to the property.

§ Def then has to appear to defend claim, or default and sacrifice property.

§ Disadvantage to Pl, can only recover up to the value of the property unless the Def has submitted to the court’s in personam jurisdiction.

o Cases

§ Pennoyer v. Neff (71)

· First time bringing up 14th Amendment and Full Faith and Credit Clause.

· Rule(s): In order to have personal jurisdiction, must attach property at onset of suit.

§ Pennington v. Fourth National Bank (159)

· Wage garnishment to pay alimony

· Petitioner did not reside in the forum state

· Holding: attachment of his in-state bank account satisfied due process

· Quasi-in-rem cases – property within the state

§ Harris v. Balk (160)

· Facts:

o Harris (NC) owed Balk (NC) who owed Epstein (Maryland)

o Harris visited Baltimore – Epstein instituted a garnishee proceedings in Maryland court, attaching the debt due Balk from Harris.

o Personally served writ of attachment to Harris

o Harris consented to the entry of judg against him and paid the $180 to Epstein

o Balk commenced an action against harris in NC. à harris said that he did not owe Balk anything anymore because of full faith and credit in the courts of NC

· In quasi in rem cases, all you can do is to dispose of the property attached

o Limited to the disposition of the res (part of the debt might be outside of the state)

· Can get jurisdiction without minimum contacts at this point (changed with Shaffer)

§ Shaffer v. Heitner (161)

· Appellee (Heitner) is a non-resident of Delaware, is the owner of one share of stock in the Greyhound Corp., a business incorporated under the laws of Delaware with its principle place of business in Phoenix, AZ.

· Heitner alleged that the individual defendants had violated their duties to greyhound by causing it and its subsidiary to engage in actions that resulted in the corporations being held liable for substantial damages in a private antitrust suit and a large fine in a criminal contempt action. à the activities which led to these penalties took place in Oregon

· Rules

o All assertions of PJ based on prop and everything else, gotta be according to minimum contacts

§ In in rem cases, you are likely to have minimum contacts because the c of a is about the property (works well with immovable property but some exception