Wrap Up and Review of Personal Jurisdiction

     Personal jurisdiction matters because it constitutes an essential step for US courts to assert their power over defendants. For US defendants, there will almost certainly be some US location where suit can proceed. For foreign defendants, however, it may well be that inability to establish personal jurisdiction in a given forum will leave plaintiffs no recourse at all in the United States.

     As a result of this, US personal jurisdiction must be understood not just by US litigators but by foreign lawyers structuring their clients' activities. Cases such as Nicastro and Asahi should make clear to you that the US Supreme Court has made it possible for foreign entities to structure their interactions with the US in ways that reduce the chance of being pulled into US courts. Think for a moment about the Chinese Drywall cases. Do you think there are ways that drywall could have been sold into the US in ways that, at least under the approaches of Justice Kennedy and Justice O'Connor, would have left US plaintiffs with no access to US courts? If those companies had had a great lawyer advising them on their business decisions, do you think they could have avoided the significant settlement that in the end they paid?

     This matters to wise lawyers because being sued in one jurisdiction is not necessarily the same as being sued in another jurisdiction. Non-US courts often do not offer aggregate litigation such as class actions, and may also tend to award lower damages, putting defendants in a stronger position if they can evade US personal jurisdiction. The US process also often costs more than litigation with other countries, with higher per hour legal fees and significant expenditures related to pre-trial discovery and pre-trial motions.

     Given a fact pattern, you should be able to work through each of the possible bases for personal jurisdiction, asking if they are satisfied. You should be able to analyze that fact pattern through both 'stream of commerce' approaches, and also should be able to look at it through the lens of each of the three opinions in Nicastro. You should understand to what extent 'effects' in the forum might or might not be a basis for jurisdiction.

     You should also be able to easily answer each of the following questions:

     1. What bases for personal jurisdiction require a connection between the litigation and the forum state?

     2. What bases for personal jurisdiction allow lawsuits unrelated to the forum state to proceed?

     3. Are you clear on how long-arm statutes work and how they are related to minimum contacts analysis?

     Can you analyze the following?

     Zhu Ren is a famous pig breeder located in Hunan province, China. He has bred many famous pigs, including the renowned G.G. Bond, Snookums, Peppa Pig, and The Empress of Blandings. Recently, Zhu Ren’s breeding operation brought into the world a new pig, which he named Zhu Kuaguo. It was apparent to all who viewed this pig that it was destined to be a famous winner of international pig breeding competitions.

     Soon after the news of Zhu Kuaguo’s entry into the world spread, Zhu Ren received an inquiry from Wilbur Porcine, a billionaire pig breeder from the state of Texas in the United States. Porcine wanted to buy Zhu Kuaguo for his own breeding operation. After some emails and telephone calls back and forth, a massively high price of $20 million was agreed upon. It was agreed that Zhu Ren would ship the pig to Houston, Texas, from which it would be taken to Porcine’s “Home for Famous Pigs” just east of the Mississippi River in the state of Louisiana. The paper work was completed to ship Kuaguo to Texas, Kuaguo was given a last loving hug by Zhu Ren (who knew him well and viewed him almost as a special pet, but $20 million is $20 million), and the crate containing him was placed on the airplane as soon as the payment cleared. The $20 million was wired from Porcine's bank in Texas to Zhu Kuagou. Assume, just for this problem, that both China and US law require pigs shipped away from their home farm to be both vaccinated and tested for Covid-19, and proof of both is included in the shipping papers. The crate was designed by Zhu Ren especially to be comfortable for Zhu Kuaguo both on the airplane and on the truck trip into Louisiana; he was especially concerned that Kuaguo not be made uncomfortable from bouncing up and down on the highway as the truck went across Louisiana. Zhu Ren has sold numerous live pigs to breeders in other parts of the US (mostly Nebraska) and in hopes of getting more US business advertises his pig breeding operation and services in the national US magazine, Pig Breeder’s Journal, but this is the first live pig he has sold anywhere in the southern part of the United States.

     Problems arose soon after Kuaguo arrived in Lousiana, however. Porcine alleged that the pig that arrived at his farm was not the pig he had paid $20 million for. Zhu Ren angrily disputed the claim, but Porcine was not to be convinced by any evidence offered. Zhu Ren is upset not only because he knows he sent the correct pig but because he had hoped to develop a long-term business relationship with Porcine.

     Porcine has now filed a lawsuit in federal court in the Central District of Louisiana. He alleged fraud, breach of contract, and deceptive trade practices, and seeks his $20 million back plus $60 million in punitive damages (Kuagou is apparently destined to become bacon). You are a new associate at a law firm that represents Zhu Ren. Knowing your expertise in US Civil Procedure, the senior partner has invited you to meet in his office along with Zhu Ren. He asks you to explain the personal jurisdiction issues in the case that were covered by your Civil Procedure course and to give strategic advice. Zhu Ren likes simple, to-the-point explanations .