Part II: Personal Jurisdiction (i) Was Defendant There (In State Where Action Took Place); and (ii) Is It Fair (To Make Person Defend In Court X)?

Personal Jurisdiction: Another relationship between the Court and the Defendant.

When faced with a personal jurisdiction question, you should only consider one question/statement.

Whether it is fair that a court be allowed to force a defendant (the "person") to come to court, and tell him, her, or it, to defend a cause of action brought by the plaintiff?

If the answer to the referenced question is yes, and the question can & will be subject to various scenarios, then you should haul the defendant into the court.

That's really the end of it

A court has to have permission (the right) to force someone to enter its building. The plaintiff dictates where it wants to file, but no matter where the plaintiff files its lawsuit, no one can be forced to defend it, unless the defendant did something in the jurisdiction where the plaintiff filed its lawsuit.

You must always look at:

(i) what the defendant did [what were the defendant's actions],

(ii) where the defendant did it [in what state did it happen], NOT, NOT what state did the action end), and

(iii) is it fair to force the "person" to defend the wrong it did to plaintiff in a particular court.

Answer these three questions, and do not forget to include, with everything else, fundamental fairness, and you will have your answer

Game over.

Now, before I forget, I want to remind you to separate subject matter jurisdiction from personal jurisdiction. Take your time and ask, hmmm - is this a question about whether the court seeks jurisdiction over the subject matter, or does the court seek jurisdiction over the person.

You must make this decision first, prior to deciding the answer to the question. If you jump in without solving subject matter or personal jurisdiction, first, then you deserve the outcome in the form of a grade.

You will probably have one question that combines the two. Address each one, but do so one at a time. Did you hear me. Pick which one you will tackle first. Then stay with it until you finish that answer. Then, and only then will you move to the next topic.

Remember to keep your time before you attempt to solve the question. If PJ and SMJ are combined, then give the appropriate amount of time to each one. Keep in mind that you cannot get a good grade by answering only a portion of the question. You have to answer both parts.

Again, keep your time. Answer everything. Close the book.

Move on to the next [ad]venture.

Prof. Smith