Also known as: FRCP 12(b)(2) · Rule 12(b)(2) · Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(2) · 12(b)(2) · lack of personal jurisdiction
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A motion by which a defendant challenges a court's authority to exercise personal jurisdiction over the defendant in the pending action.
Foster Forge, a Delaware corporation with its only facility in Delaware, receives a summons in a products suit filed in federal court in New York. Foster Forge files a pre-answer motion asserting that its contacts with New York are insufficient to support jurisdiction over the claim. The court must decide whether to dismiss the action for lack of personal jurisdiction before reaching the merits.
Frontier Capital, a British company, sells specialized machinery through an independent U.S. distributor. One machine reaches a buyer in New Jersey and injures Freya Freeman there. Frontier Capital moves to dismiss the New Jersey suit, arguing that it never purposefully directed sales into the forum and that the distributor's unilateral actions cannot create jurisdiction.
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Hustler Magazine, Inc., an Ohio publisher, circulates thousands of copies monthly in New Hampshire. A New Hampshire resident sues in that state for libel based on an issue sold there. The publisher moves to dismiss, contending that its national distribution does not create jurisdiction over a claim by a nonresident plaintiff.
A Florida-based tabloid and its editor publish an allegedly defamatory article about a California actress. The actress sues in California. The defendants move to dismiss, arguing that their Florida conduct and lack of physical presence in California prevent the exercise of jurisdiction over the claim.
An Irish insurer appears in a federal suit brought by a Guinean mining company and participates in discovery for several months without raising any objection to personal jurisdiction. The insurer later moves to dismiss under Rule 12(b)(2). The court must determine whether the insurer's earlier conduct forfeited the defense.
A Nevada resident sues a Georgia police officer in Nevada federal court after an encounter at an Atlanta airport. The officer moves to dismiss, asserting that his single interaction with the plaintiff in Georgia supplies no basis for Nevada to exercise jurisdiction over him.
A defendant must raise lack of personal jurisdiction in a pre-answer motion under Rule 12(b) or in the first responsive pleading. Failure to do so waives the defense under Rules 12(g) and 12(h).
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No. A defendant may engage in discovery while a timely Rule 12(b)(2) motion remains pending without waiving the defense.
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Yes. Authority in the Third Circuit permits transfer for convenience even though the transferor court lacks personal jurisdiction over the defendant.
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Yes. Rule 12(g)(2) requires consolidation of available Rule 12(b) defenses in a single pre-answer motion. Omitting the personal-jurisdiction defense waives it.
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…nor did they claim any connection between the events in Argentina and California. Daimler moved to dismiss the complaint for lack of personal jurisdiction. The District Court granted the motion, concluding that it lacked personal jurisdiction over Daimler. The Ninth Circuit reversed. It held that the District Court erred in dismissing the…