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Civ Pro Outline Gundlach 1L

A. Constitutional Clauses
a. Full Faith & Credit Clause state must respect judgments of other
states
b. Due Process Clause (14th Amendment) a right of individual not to
be sued if the court does not have jurisdiction over him
B. IN PERSONAM: Jurisdiction over the defendant himself (the person)
(a) Traditional Bases for PJ are: Power, Consent, Domicile (3 Prongs of
Pennoyer)
i. POWER: Jurisdiction is a function of physical power over persons
and things
1. Power to act substantive due process court must have
power to act either upon given property or on a given person
so as to subject him to personal liability 14th amendment
imposes required power to act
2. Long Arm Statutes
a. States authorize their courts to exercise jurisdiction over
Defendants in other states if they have sufficient
contacts with the state
b. State permits he court of a state to obtain jurisdiction
over persons not physically present within the state at
time of service
c. Substitute Service usually state provides for substitute
means
i. Ex: registered mail
3. Power over Person on Property

Pennoyer v. Neff (1877): Presence in Forum State


o Mitchell (Oregon domicile) was an attorney for Neff (non-resident
of Oregon). Mitchell sued Neff for failure to pay fees. Neff was
served notice through a newspaper in Oregon. He never
answered, and judgment was entered upon his default. Mitchell
had a sheriff seize Neffs Oregon property. Sheriff sold the
property to Pennoyer, and paid Mitchell amount owed from the
lawsuit. Neff reappeared in Oregon and when he found his
property was seized, filed suit against Pennoyer to get his
property back.
o ISSUE: Whether Oregon had PJ over Neff in the original lawsuit
by Mitchell.
o HOLDING: Court found that the original verdict was invalid
because Oregon didnt have in personam jurisdiction over Neff,
and so property was wrongly seized when sold to Pennoyer.

o RULE: To have in personam jurisdiction, there must be personal


service of process or defendant can make a voluntary
appearance
PRESENCE
CONSENT
o A state has exclusive jurisdiction over people and property within
its borders, and cannot exercise jurisdiction over people in other
states
DOMICILE
o The Full Faith and Credit clause of the Constitution only applies
when the court rendering the judgment had jurisdiction of the
parties of subject matter
ii. CONSENT: Consent alone is sufficient to establish minimum
contacts
1. Express Consent: D consents to specific jurisdiction
Ex: Clause in contract
2. Implied Consent: Statute covering motorists traveling
in another
state consent to suit on car accidents (Hess)
3. Forum Selection Clauses: When parties specify that
disputes can be heard only in a particular clause in
most jurisdiction forum selection clauses are
enforceable if the are fundamentally fair

Carnival Cruise Lines, Inc. v. Shute


Hess v. Pawloski
4. Consents of Corporations
a. Always PJ in state of incorporation (Pennoyer)
b. States assert jurisdiction under 2 basic theories:
i. If corporation has extensive activities in the
state it establishes presence general
jurisdiction
ii. If corporation has less activity in the state it
has implied consent to suits arising out of
activity specific jurisdiction
c. If corporation is foreign to forum state,
requirements:
i. Minimum contacts
ii. Voluntarily sought business in forum state
iii. Has an agent in the state
iii. DOMICILE: D is domiciled in the forum (general jurisdiction)

Miliken v. Meyer Notions of Fair Play and Substantial Justice


o Law: Serving someone personally even though they are out of
state establishes state jurisdiction
o HOLDING: Domicile is defined as the place where the person
resides and intends to remain indefinitely. Citizenship doesnt go
away because someone leaves the state.
iv. NOTICE: Due process requires D receive adequate notice
of litigation
1. constructive notice
2. methods of service
3. In order to determine whether the presence of an in
state agent constitutes minimum contacts you must
consider: Does the agent conduct a substantial amount
of business in the forum state for D?

(b) If in personam exists, judgment binds the D personally


(c) A state has jurisdiction over someone who is merely passing though
borders
C. IN REM: Jurisdiction over an item or property owned by a person (specific
jurisdiction)
a. Obtained by seizing property at the outset of the action
b. A judgment in an in rem case affects only the property and is
limited only to the
value of the property (limited appearance)
c. Statutory Inquiry attachment statute requires attachment at onset
of litigation
d. constitutional inquiry see Shaffer v Heitner
D. QUASI IN REM: gives courts jurisdiction over D, but only to the extent of
the in-state property belonging to him that has been attached the property
is simply a means to gain jurisdiction over Ds assets
a. Quasi in Rem type I dispute as to title of property
b. Quasi in Rem type II Claims against D has nothing to do with
property attachment
c. how to handle QIR
i. look at statute attachment statute
1. we can attach property that a non-resident owns or
claims to own
2. today, every state has an attachment statute, which
requires
attachment at the outset of Pennoyer
ii. constitutional analysis: Pennoyer said OK if you attach
property at outset

1. Shaffer v. Heitner for all cases including in rem and


QIR you must
Apply intl shoe minimum contacts test it is not
enough to have the property of the foru and have it
attached at the outset you must show the D has
minimum contacts
E. Two types of personal jurisdiction

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