The Long Arm Of The Law! You Can't Sue Me There! I'm Here! Continued!
State and US District Courts use a legal analysis to determine whether the state or District Court has jurisdiction over a defendant located in another state. In a real stretch of logic, Delaware Court held that a law firm, by sending a document to CT Corporation (CSC in Delaware) in Delaware for filing with the Delaware Secretary of State for a Delaware Corporation conducted business in the state of Delaware. The court concluded that the courts in Delaware had jurisdiction over the law firm. Did the out of state law firm intend to conduct business in Delaware? No!
Would the result be the same if the law firm had served CT Corporation in Ohio, for delivery to CSC in Delaware? Would that action constitute transacting business in Delaware?
The law firm's client was already subject to jurisdiction in the courts in Delaware by virtue of their status as a Delaware Corporation. Thanks to Ward of Ward on Iowa Limited Liability Companies for the Reference.
Compare this result to the courts findings in the Pope and Bellisio cases discussed below on November 11th. Once again the courts find a single transaction sufficient to establish jurisdiction. One interesting question is whether the law firm, acting as agent for the Delaware principal, was really doing business in Delaware. The court decided, "yes."
