Jurisdiction

Email Service on Chinese Nationals Is Permissible Under Federal Rules When Physical Address Is Unknown After Reasonable Diligence

Posted: / By: Categories: Civil Procedure, Jurisdiction, Service of Process

Last year, we covered a decision in which the Southern District of New York permitted alternate service on defendants residing in China after plaintiffs were unable through the exercise of reasonable diligence to discover the defendants’ physical addresses.  (Analysis available HERE.) In Orient Plus International Ltd. v. Baosheng Media Group Holdings Ltd., 2024 WL 2317715 … Read more

Southern District of New York Treats Canadian Corporation-Partnership Hybrid as Partnership for Diversity Jurisdiction Purposes

Posted: / By: Categories: Civil Procedure, Jurisdiction

In MaxBounty, ULC v. Zocdoc Inc., 24-cv-3307 (S.D.N.Y. Jul. 3, 2014), the Southern District of New York held that a Canadian “unlimited liability corporation” should be treated as a partnership for purposes of determining whether the court has diversity jurisdiction. The requirements for establishing federal diversity jurisdiction are well established when it comes to natural … Read more

New York Choice of Law Provision, Standing Alone, Does Not Confer Personal Jurisdiction

Posted: / By: , Categories: Civil Procedure, Jurisdiction

As illustrated in a decision by the New York Supreme Court in Five Star Logistics LLC v. Innovasian Cuisine Enters. Inc., Index No. 653357/2022 (N.Y. Sup. Ct. Nov. 22, 2022), a New York choice of law provision, standing alone, will not confer personal jurisdiction over a defendant… Read more

Kicked Out of Federal Court: How Stateless Citizens Fall Outside of Diversity of Citizenship

Posted: / By: , Categories: Civil Procedure, Jurisdiction

Diversity of citizenship under 28 U.S.C. § 1332 is one way for parties to obtain entry into federal court.  When the case in controversy exceeds $75,000, federal courts have jurisdiction if the action is between “citizens of different States,” 28 U.S.C. § 1332(a)(1), or between “citizens of a State and citizens and or subjects of a foreign state,” 28 U.S.C. § 1332(a)(2).  In Jane Doe v. Grace Baptist Church, 2022 WL 1490486 (N.D.N.Y. May 11, 2022), the Northern District of New York addressed the application of these provisions to a party with dual citizenship in the U.S. and Greece and found that the court lacked subject matter jurisdiction… Read more