Opinion ID: 1277932
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Whether the Claims of All Potential Class Members May Be Considered For Establishing Personal Jurisdiction.

Text: Plaintiffs argue that, even if the court lacks personal jurisdiction over FAF with respect to the claims of the named plaintiffs, the allegations of the petition are sufficient to assert jurisdiction over FAF on the claims of some of the members of the class. We are convinced that this argument should be rejected. We recognized in Hammer v. Branstad, 463 N.W.2d 86, 91 (Iowa 1990), that, when the named plaintiffs in a class action were shown to lack standing to maintain the litigation, opportunity should be given for other members of the class to step forward and take their place. At the time that determination was made in Hammer, however, there was a certified class of plaintiffs whose rights were at issue. At the present stage of the litigation we are now considering, there has been no determination that a class exists or that the action may proceed as a class action. The only persons who may assert that it should proceed as a class action are the named plaintiffs. If the court lacks jurisdiction over FAF as to plaintiffs' individual claims for relief, it also lacks jurisdiction over FAF for purposes of considering plaintiffs' request to certify the litigation as a class action. See Williams v. FirstPlus Home Loan Trust, 209 F.R.D. 404, 411 (W.D.Tenn.2002) (it is named class representatives whose claims must provide basis for personal jurisdiction over nonresident defendants); Barry v. Mortgage Servicing Acquisition Corp., 909 F.Supp. 65, 73 (D.R.I.1995) (same). All claims against FAF were properly dismissed for lack of personal jurisdiction.