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Personal Jurisdiction Essay

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The Northern District Court of Alabama likely has personal jurisdiction over Fibberman. The Alabama rule for out-of-state service is 4.2(b) which states,
An appropriate basis exists for service of process outside of this state upon a person or entity in any action in this state when the person or entity has such contacts with this state that the prosecution of the action against the person or entity in this state is not inconsistent with the constitution of this state or the Constitution of the United States.
A.R.Civ.P. 4.2(b). Alabama’s long arm statute authorizes courts to “extend the jurisdiction of Alabama courts to the permissible limits of due process.” Atlanta Auto Auction, Inc. v. G&G Auto Sales, Inc., 512 So.2d 1334, 1335 (Ala. …show more content…

“This purposeful availment requirement assures that a defendant will not be haled into a jurisdiction as a result of ‘the unilateral activity of another person or a third person.’” Id. (quoting Burger King Corp. v. Rudzewicz, 471 U.S. 462, 475 (1985). Additionally, the activities also need to be foreseeable such that, “the defendant’s conduct and connection with the forum state are such that he should reasonably anticipate being haled into court there.” Burger King Corp. v. Rudzewicz, 105 S. Ct. 2174, 2183 (1985).
To illustrate, the Alabama Supreme Court ruled they had jurisdiction over Owens and Fitzner Pontiac-Buick-Cadillac, Inc. (“Fitzner”). Lowry v. Owens, 621 So. 2d 1262, 1267 (Ala. 1993). Fitzner is a Mississippi corporation licensed to do business in Mississippi. Id. at 1263. A third party initiated contact with Owens who bought cars from Fitzner for resale in Alabama. Id. Lowry picked up the car with a third party, and a later inspection revealed the car had been wrecked and was not new as advertised. Id. Lowry sued Owens and Fitzner for fraudulent misrepresentation and deceit from the original car sale. Id. at 1264. The Supreme Court of Alabama needed to determine if Fitzner had sufficient minimum contacts to justify the court asserting personal jurisdiction over Fitzner in Alabama. Id. Minimum contacts is made up of purposeful availment and foreseeability. Id. at 1265. Fitzner’s alleged fraud alone is not sufficient for purposeful

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