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Assignment 4 Legal Research Writing and Civil Litigation

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Mary a proprietor of a small business in Vermont specializes in the manufacturing of ski equipment and sales to Vermont ski resorts. Mary signed a contract with Froogle that allows Mary’s business to advertise on Froogles search engine. Mary is aware that Froogles headquarters is in California. Mary has never done business or been in California. All business relating to Mary is done directly on the phone in Vermont or via the internet. Two months after Mary signed the contract Froogle alleges that Mary violated the agreement between the parties and files suit in Superior Court for the county of Monterey in Salinas, California. Mary claims that the California court has no personal jurisdiction over her. Froogle claims California does…show more content…
To meet the requirements of due process the defendant must have “minimum contacts” with the forum state so that it “does not offend the traditional notions of fair play and substantial justice”. The court also stated that having a website alone does not give rise to personal jurisdiction.

Mary advertises her ski equipment business on Froogle a search engine. Just like in Gourmet, Mary knowingly availed her business over Froogles search engine. Further If Mary advertised her business to customers over the internet and entered into contracts with those customers she would have the minimum contacts to rise to a level where personal jurisdiction would apply. Like Shisler, To meet the requirements of due process the defendant must have “minimum contacts” with the forum state so that it “does not offend the traditional notions of fair play and substantial justice”. When evaluating internet activity for jurisdictional purposes case law has used a sliding scale test. If a defendant enters into a contract with residents of a foreign jurisdiction that involves the continuous transmission of files over the internet then personal jurisdiction would be proper however, if a defendant has simply posted information on an internet website which is accessible to foreign customers who are interested in it is not grounds for the exercise of personal jurisdiction.
“At one end of the spectrum are situations
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