Civil Procedure

• Territorial Jurisdiction


  Court's ability to exercise jurisdiction over parties, corporations or property and hold them to its judgments and orders
• Types of Territorial Jurisdiction


  • In personam
  • In rem
  • Quasi-in rem
• In personam jurisdiction


  Court's jurisdiction over a person based on the defendant's relationship with the forum state
• In rem jurisdiction


  Court's jurisdiction over property in the forum state
• Quasi-in rem jurisdiction


  The court's jurisdiction over a piece of property used to enforce a judgment over a person or corporation
• Traditional basis for territorial jurisdiction


  • Domicile
  • Presence
  • Consent
• Domicile (for a person)


  The state where they reside and intend to remain indefinitely
• Domicile (for a corporation)


  (1) The state where they are incorporated and (2) their principal place of business
• Presence


  Voluntary present in the forum state and served with process while there
• Consent


  PJ can be established by a party's consent, either expressed or implied
• Expressed consent


  • Appearance
  • Registration
  • "Choice of forum contract"
  • Not objecting in their answer
• Implied consent


  D consents to the benefits and protections of the forum state
• Waiver


  (1) A special appearance for (2) contesting traditional jurisdiction
• Long-arm statute


  Gives power to the courts to call into court a non-resident D & hold them to its judgments and orders based on the contacts with the forum state
• Requirements for long-arm statute


  • Contacts must be relevant, related, fair and reasonable
  • D must have minimum contacts with the forum
  • General and specific jurisdiction must be present
  • Exercise of TJ must not offend traditional notions of fair play and substantial justice
• Types of long-arm statutes


  • Limited
  • Unlimited
• Limited long-arm statute


  Pertains only to causes of action such as torts, contracts, property, and marital dissolution
• Unlimited long-arm statute


  Grants jurisdiction as allowed by the Constitution and Due Process Clause
• Minimum contacts


  Based on the D's relationship with the forum state, D must have (1) purposefully availed themselves within the forum state, and (2) the D's activities make it foreseeable that the defendant will get called into court in the forum state
• Purposeful availment


  D purposefully avails themselves to the privilege of conducting activities in the forum state, thus invoking the benefits and protections of the forum state laws
• Foreseeability


  D should have known or reasonably should have known that based on its activities within the forum state they could get called into court there
• Relatedness


  The court will examine the nature and quality of D's contact with the state. P's claim must be related to the contacts with the forum state.
• General jurisdiction


  Arises for any cause of action against D, regardless of where COA arose, as long as D's activities are systematic and continuous within the forum where he is essentially considered "at home"
• Specific jurisdiction


  Arises if D's in-state activity is based on isolated acts committed within jx. PJ will be proper if the cause of action arose directly out of the defendant's activities within the forum state
• Fairness factors


  • The burden on the D
  • The plaintiff interest in relief
  • The states interest in providing redress for its residents
  • The judicial system's interest in obtaining relief
  • State's shared interest in furthering social policy
• Notice


  Due Process requires that "notice be reasonably calculated under all circumstances to appraise the interested parties of the pendency of the action and afford them an opportunity to present their objections"
• Methods of service of process


  • Personally served
  • Left at defendant's residence with responsible party
  • Delivered to authorized agent