Opinion ID: 458560
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Principles of Personal Jurisdiction

Text: 12 In a diversity action, personal jurisdiction may be exercised over a nonresident defendant if: (1) the nonresident defendant is amenable to service of process under the law of the forum state; and (2) the exercise of jurisdiction under state law comports with the due process clause of the fourteenth amendment. See Thompson v. Chrysler Motors Corp., 755 F.2d 1162, 1166 (5th Cir.1985); D.J. Investments, Inc. v. Metzeler Motorcycle Tire Agent Gregg, Inc., 754 F.2d 542, 545 (5th Cir.1985); Smith v. DeWalt Products Corp., 743 F.2d 277, 278 (5th Cir.1984). The first step of the dual inquiry is solely a matter of determining the reach of the forum state's long-arm statute. The second step--the due process inquiry--is governed by federal law and requires the satisfaction of two elements: (a) the nonresident must have some minimum contact with the forum which results from an affirmative act on his part; (b) it must be fair and reasonable to require the nonresident to defend the suit in the forum state. See D.J. Investments, 754 F.2d at 545; Pedelahore v. Astropark, Inc., 745 F.2d 346, 348 (5th Cir.1984); Product Promotions, Inc. v. Cousteau, 495 F.2d 483, 494 (5th Cir.1974). Because the Texas long-arm statute, Tex.Rev.Civ.Stat.Ann. art. 2031b (Vernon 1964 & Supp.1985), has been interpreted to extend to the limits of due process, see Hall v. Helicopteros Nacionales de Colombia, 638 S.W.2d 870, 872 (Tex.1982), rev'd on other grounds, 466 U.S. 408, 104 S.Ct. 1868, 80 L.Ed.2d 404 (1984); D.J. Investments, 754 F.2d at 546; Jim Fox Enterprises Inc. v. Air France, 705 F.2d 738, 740 (5th Cir.1983), we need only inquire whether the assertion of jurisdiction over Spademan by a district court sitting in Texas would be constitutionally permissible. 13 Due process requirements for exercising personal jurisdiction over a nonresident have been delineated in a familiar body of United States Supreme Court case law. 2 A minimum-contacts analysis involves more than counting the nonresident's contacts with the forum. See Hydrokinetics, Inc. v. Alaska Mechanical, Inc., 700 F.2d 1026, 1028 (5th Cir.1983), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 104 S.Ct. 2180, 80 L.Ed.2d 561 (1984); Brilmayer, How Contacts Count: Due Process Limitations on State Court Jurisdiction, 1980 Sup.Ct.Rev. 77. We must look to see whether there has been some act by which the nonresident  'purposefully avails itself of the privilege of conducting activities within the forum state, thus invoking the benefits and protection of its laws.' The defendant's conduct and connection with the forum state must be such that [it] should reasonably anticipate being haled into court in the forum state. Growden v. Ed Bowlin & Associates, Inc., 733 F.2d 1149, 1151 (5th Cir.1984) (quoting Hanson v. Denckla, 357 U.S. at 253, 78 S.Ct. at 1240); see World-Wide Volkswagen, 444 U.S. at 294, 100 S.Ct. at 565-566; Patterson v. Dietze, Inc., 764 F.2d 1145, 1147 (5th Cir.1985). The unilateral activity of those who claim some relationship with a nonresident defendant, however, cannot satisfy the requirement of contact with the forum state. See Helicopteros Nacionales, 104 S.Ct. at 1873; Hanson v. Denckla, 357 U.S. at 253, 78 S.Ct. at 1239-1240; Thomas v. Kadish, 748 F.2d 276, 282 (5th Cir.1984), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 105 S.Ct. 3531, 87 L.Ed.2d 655 (1985); see also Lilly, Jurisdiction Over Domestic and Alien Defendants, 69 Va.L.Rev. 85, 99 (1983). A nonresident may permissibly structure his primary conduct so as to avoid being haled into court in a particular state. See World-Wide Volkswagen, 444 U.S. at 297, 100 S.Ct. at 567. The Supreme Court has most recently observed: 14 The Due Process Clause protects an individual's liberty interest in not being subject to the binding judgments of a forum with which he has established no meaningful contacts, ties, or relations. ... By requiring that individuals have fair warning that a particular activity may subject [them] to the jurisdiction of a foreign sovereign, ... the Due Process Clause gives a degree of predictability to the legal system that allows potential defendants to structure their primary conduct with some minimum assurance as to where that conduct will and will not render them liable to suit[.] 15 Burger King, 105 S.Ct. at 2181-82 (citations and footnotes omitted). 16 When a controversy is related to or arises out of a nonresident's contacts with the forum, the minimum-contacts inquiry focuses on the relationship among the defendant, the forum, and the litigation. 3 See Helicopteros Nacionales, 104 S.Ct. at 1872; Shaffer v. Heitner, 433 U.S. 186, 204, 97 S.Ct. 2569, 2579, 2580, 53 L.Ed.2d 683 (1977). 17 Where a forum seeks to assert specific jurisdiction over an out-of-state defendant who has not consented to suit there, this fair warning requirement is satisfied if the defendant has purposefully directed his activities at residents of the forum ... and the litigation results from alleged injuries that arise out of or relate to those activities[.] 18 Burger King, 105 S.Ct. at 2182 (citations and footnotes omitted). 4 Even when a controversy does not arise out of or relate to the nonresident's contacts with the forum, the assertion of personal jurisdiction over the nonresident does not offend due process if the contacts are sufficiently systematic and continuous as to support a reasonable exercise of jurisdiction. 5 See Keeton v. Hustler Magazine, Inc., 104 S.Ct. at 1480-81; Perkins v. Benguet Consolidated Mining Co., 342 U.S. 437, 72 S.Ct. 413, 96 L.Ed.2d 485 (1952). 19 [T]he constitutional touchstone remains whether the defendant purposefully established 'minimum contacts' in the forum State. Burger King, 105 S.Ct. at 2183. The due-process test of foreseeability is whether the defendant's conduct and connection with the forum State are such that he should reasonably anticipate being haled into court there. World-Wide Volkswagen, 444 U.S. at 297, 100 S.Ct. at 567. Reasonable anticipation of out-of-state litigation is delimited by the purposeful availment requirement set out in Hanson v. Denckla. See 357 U.S. at 253, 78 S.Ct. at 1239-1240. This requirement ensures that a defendant will not be haled into a jurisdiction solely as a result of 'random,' 'fortuitous,' or 'attenuated' contacts ... or of the 'unilateral activity of another party or a third person'.... Jurisdiction is proper, however, where the contacts proximately result from actions by the defendant himself that create a 'substantial connection' with the forum State. Burger King, 105 S.Ct. at 2183-84 (emphasis in original; citations and footnotes omitted); see also Patterson, 764 F.2d at 1147. For example, with respect to interstate contractual obligations, [the Court has] emphasized that parties who 'reach out beyond one state and create continuing relationships and obligations with citizens of another state' are subject to regulations and sanctions for the consequences of their activities. Burger King, 105 S.Ct. at 2182 (quoting Travelers Health Ass'n v. Virginia, 339 U.S. 643, 647, 70 S.Ct. 927, 929, 94 L.Ed. 1154 (1950)); see also McGee v. International Life Insurance Co., 355 U.S. at 222-23, 78 S.Ct. at 200-201. That the defendant refrained from physically entering the forum state is not of itself sufficient to avoid jurisdiction if a substantial connection otherwise exists. See Burger King, 105 S.Ct. at 2184. 20 After deciding that a defendant purposefully established minimum contacts with the forum state, it must be determined whether maintenance of the suit comports with  'traditional notions of fair play and substantial justice.'  International Shoe Co., 326 U.S. at 316, 66 S.Ct. at 158 (quoting Milliken v. Meyer, 311 U.S. 457, 463, 61 S.Ct. 339, 343, 85 L.Ed. 278 (1940)); see Burger King, 105 S.Ct. at 2184. The criteria of fairness require that we consider, among other things, the interest of the state in providing a forum for the suit, the relative conveniences and inconveniences to the parties, and the basic equities. 6 Southwest Offset, Inc. v. Hudco Publishing Co., 622 F.2d 149, 152 (5th Cir.1980); see Bean Dredging Corp. v. Dredge Technology Corp., 744 F.2d 1081, 1085 (5th Cir.1984); Brown v. Flowers Industries, Inc., 688 F.2d 328, 333 (5th Cir.1982), cert. denied, 460 U.S. 1023, 103 S.Ct. 1275, 75 L.Ed.2d 496 (1983). Nevertheless, the fairness factors cannot of themselves invest the court with jurisdiction over a nonresident when the minimum-contacts analysis weighs against the exercise of jurisdiction. See World-Wide Volkswagen, 444 U.S. at 294, 100 S.Ct. at 565-566; Growden, 733 F.2d at 1150-51. 21 When a nonresident defendant presents a motion to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction, the plaintiff bears the burden of establishing the district court's jurisdiction over the nonresident. See Thompson, 755 F.2d at 1165; D.J. Investments, 754 F.2d at 545. The court may determine the jurisdictional issue by receiving affidavits, interrogatories, depositions, oral testimony, or any combination of the recognized methods of discovery. See Washington v. Norton Manufacturing Co., 588 F.2d 441, 443 (5th Cir.), cert. denied, 442 U.S. 942, 99 S.Ct. 2886, 61 L.Ed.2d 313 (1979). In ruling on the motion to dismiss, the court below considered the entire record, including the affidavits and documentary evidence filed by the parties, as well as the oral testimony of the plaintiffs.