Civil Procedure Practice Question 1

Each week, I will post a different practice question from a different doctrinal course. Here is a Civil Procedure question for this week:

Prompt:

Darren lived in Pennsylvania until four years ago. His employer then transferred him to Hawaii to take over a sales branch there. Even though Darren anticipated returning to Pennsylvania eventually, he sold his Pennsylvania house with the intention of buying a different house there when he returned. Darren had no control over his geographic work assignment and did not know for sure how long he would be residing in Hawaii, but he did not expect to remain there for more than two to three years. After Darren took up residence in Hawaii, he was sued in a Pennsylvania state court concerning a car accident that occurred in Maryland a few years before.

Can the Pennsylvania state courts constitutionally take jurisdiction over this suit?

Tip: First, identify the issue or legal concept the question is asking you to discuss. Then state the rule and apply the facts of the hypo to the rule to come to a conclusion.

View Answer

This question is asking about personal in personam jurisdiction - that is the power of a court over an individual. Here, we want to know if Pennsylvania has general in personam jurisdiction over Darren. If this jurisdiction exists (general jurisdiction), Darren can be sued in Pennsylvania for events that occurred anywhere in the world (here, the event occurred in Maryland).

General jurisdiction is a matter of domicile. The state in which a person (an individual) is domiciled has general jurisdiction over that person. An individual can only have one domicile and his domicile remains the same until he acquires a new domicile. Domicile is determined by physical presence and the person's intention to remain in the state indefinitely.

Here, Darren is physically present in the state of Hawaii, but the facts indicate that he does not plan to stay in Hawaii indefinitely. Because Darren has not established domicile in Hawaii, his domicile remains in Pennsylvania. As such, Pennsylvania has general jurisdiction over Darren and he may be sued by the plaintiff in Pennsylvania courts for an accident that occurred in Maryland.