Personal jurisdiction over foreign defendants in state courts is limited by state statutes and by the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which the Supreme Court has interpreted to require that defendants have “minimum contacts” with the forum state. Personal jurisdiction in federal courts extends in most cases only as far as the jurisdiction of the state courts of the state in which they sit. However, in limited situations governed by Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 4(k)(2) and some federal statutes, personal jurisdiction in federal courts can extend beyond the limits of state court jurisdiction. Personal jurisdiction in federal courts is limited by the Fifth Amendment’s Due Process Clause. The analysis of personal jurisdiction under the Fifth Amendment is more flexible than the "minimum contacts" analysis under the Fourteenth Amendment.
A Primer on Personal Jurisdiction
(Updated August 19, 2025) Personal jurisdiction (or “authority to adjudicate”) refers to the authority of a court to make a binding determination with respect to a person or a thing. In personam jurisdiction refers to the authority to determine the rights or obligations of a person (including a business). In rem jurisdiction refers to the…
Continue ReadingSDNY Grapples with Fuld
In Fuld v. Palestine Liberation Organization, as we have previously covered, the Supreme Court held that the due process limits on personal jurisdiction under the Fifth Amendment differ from those of the Fourteenth Amendment. But the Court did not spell out what the personal jurisdiction analysis should be under the Fifth Amendment, other than stating…
Continue ReadingNew Essay on the Future of Fuld v. PLO
I have expanded on my prior TLB posts on Fuld v. PLO, including a series of posts I wrote last summer critiquing the originalist case for unlimited personal jurisdiction under the Fifth Amendment, in a new essay that is forthcoming in the Yale Law Journal Forum and is now available on SSRN. In this new…
Continue ReadingNinth Circuit Reverses Personal Jurisdiction Decision in Lufthansa Case
Last year, I expressed doubt over the Northern District of California’s dismissal for lack of personal jurisdiction of a suit brought by California residents regarding their alleged mistreatment when checking in for their Lufthansa flight in Saudi Arabia. The Ninth Circuit recently reversed that decision in Doe v. Deutsche Lufthansa Aktiengesellschaft, holding that that the…
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