Andrew Gold on Personal Jurisdiction in the Internet Age: What Does a Website Have to Do to Constitute Minimum Contacts Sufficient to Establish Jurisdiction?
In Andys Music, Inc. v. Andys Music, Inc., an Alabama plaintiff argued that the mere fact that the defendant had a website accessible via the internet in Alabama was sufficient to establish personal jurisdiction against it. A court disagreed. So, what does constitute minimum contacts in the age of the internet? This issue is analyzed by Andrew Gold, a partner in the Oakland firm of Bogatin, Corman & Gold.
“When a company named Andy's Music, which has a registered trademark in its name, sues another company named Andy's Music, liability would not appear to be an issue. However, when an Alabama plaintiff sues an Illinois defendant in Alabama, it better have a sufficient basis for personal jurisdiction,” warns Mr. Gold.
Mr. Gold first reviews the key facts of the litigation, and he then sets out the plaintiff’s theory of personal jurisdiction. After explaining the jurisdictional basics for a federal court sitting in diversity, Mr. Gold discusses the “sliding scale” test that the court utilized in Andy’s Music.