Civil Procedure I Outline

Civil Procedure I

Trinity 2010

Professor Rousseau

1. PERSONAL JURISDICTION

a. The power of a Court to issue a judgment that is binding on a person or property.

i. Objection to PJ must be raised at beginning of lawsuit.

b. Overview

i. Auto PJs on D

1. Incorporated in forum; Irish

2. Domiciled in forum; Drinks

3. Consent; Can

4. Served in forum; and Save

5. Waiver. Wales

ii. Long-Arm Statute

iii. Minimum Contacts Tests

1. Specific jurisdiction;

2. General jurisdiction;

3. Effects test; and

4. Stream of commerce (with 3 parties only).

iv. Reasonableness Factors

1. Logic of forum; Lad

2. Interest of state adjudicating; Is

3. Public policy concerns; Pimpin

4. Burden on D; and Big

5. Convenience for P. Chics

c. Five automatic PJs:

i. Incorporated in forum; Irish

ii. Domiciled in forum; Drinks

iii. Consent; Can

iv. Served in forum; and Save

v. Waiver. Wales

d. MINIMUM CONTACTS

i. Applies to both individuals as well as corporate defendants;

ii. D may have minimum contacts with state even though he did not act within the state;

1. Effects Test

a. Minimum contacts can be established by intentional conduct taken outside the state where actor knows that the effects of the conduct will be felt inside the state.

iii. Minimum contacts analysis focuses on the time the D ACTED, not time of lawsuit;

iv. Suit cannot offend “traditional notions of fair play or justice” (International);

v. Activities must be purposely directed toward forum state (Asahi);

1. Stream of Commerce Theory (only used when a “middle-man” involved)

a. Jurisdiction is appropriate over corporation that “delivers its products into the stream of commerce with the expectation that they will be purchased by consumers in the forum state.”

i. Minority view looks to only awareness.

vi. Possibility of being hauled into forum court must be foreseeable by D (World-Wide VW);

e. Specific Jurisdiction

i. Very minimal contacts can support;

ii. Controversy arises out of D’s contacts;

iii. Activity must be purposeful;

iv. Burden on D to defend must be reasonable.

f. General Jurisdiction

i. Controversy needn’t be related to D’s contacts w/ forum;

ii. Contacts must be continuous, systematic, & substantial.

1. Easily identifiable circumstances of general jurisdiction:

a. State of incorporation (for corporations);

b. Principal place of business (for corporations);

c. State of domicile (for individuals).

g. Reasonableness Factors

i. Logic of forum; Lad

ii. Interest of state adjudicating; Is

iii. Public policy concerns; Pimpin

iv. Burden on D; and Big

v. Convenience for P. Chics

h. Long-Arm Statutes

i. A statute providing for jurisdiction over a nonresident D who has had contacts with th