Also known as: doing business jurisdiction · doing-business-jurisdiction · doing business · general jurisdiction
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A basis for exercising general personal jurisdiction over a nonresident corporation. It requires that the corporation's contacts with the forum state be so continuous and substantial that the corporation is essentially at home there.
Dakota Industries, incorporated and headquartered in Delaware, sells millions of dollars of equipment annually in California through independent distributors. A plaintiff injured by one of its products in Oregon sues Dakota Industries in California for all claims. The court dismisses for lack of general jurisdiction because Dakota Industries is not at home in California.
Duarte Shipping, incorporated in Panama with its principal place of business in Florida, maintains a large terminal and conducts regular shipping operations in Texas. A cargo owner sues Duarte Shipping in Texas over a contract formed and performed entirely in Florida. The court holds that Texas lacks general jurisdiction because Duarte Shipping is not at home there.
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Diamond Manufacturing, incorporated and based in Ohio, sells products nationwide including thousands of units each year in Nevada. A consumer injured by a product in Arizona brings suit in Nevada. The court dismisses because Diamond Manufacturing's sales activity does not render it at home in Nevada for general jurisdiction purposes.
Dover Bank, incorporated and headquartered in New York, processes millions of transactions involving California residents each year. A plaintiff brings an unrelated claim in California. The court finds no general jurisdiction because volume of business alone does not make the bank at home in California.
Dylan Duffy, a resident of Georgia, contracts with a Delaware corporation that maintains substantial operations in Georgia. The contract contains a forum-selection clause designating New York. When suit is filed in Georgia, the court evaluates whether the corporation's business contacts support jurisdiction independent of the clause.
Dominic Drake, an Oklahoma resident, sues a New York automobile distributor in Oklahoma after an accident there. The distributor's only connection is that one of its vehicles reached Oklahoma through the national distribution network. The court holds that this attenuated contact does not support general jurisdiction.
No. The Supreme Court has held that even extensive sales and operations in a forum do not render a corporation at home there absent exceptional circumstances.
Supporting sources
A corporation is at home in its state of incorporation and its principal place of business. Only in exceptional cases will it be subject to general jurisdiction elsewhere.
Supporting sources
Doing-business jurisdiction is a form of general jurisdiction that allows suit on any claim. Specific jurisdiction requires that the claim arise out of or relate to the defendant's contacts with the forum.
Supporting sources
…salesman was not proper service upon appellant; that appellant was not a corporation of the State of Washington and was not doing business within the state; that it had no agent within the state upon whom service could be made; and that appellant is not an employer and does not furnish employment within the meaning of the…