The Eleventh Circuit recently clarified that due process does not permit a court to exercise personal jurisdiction over a defendant where plaintiff’s unilateral conduct is the sole link to the forum. ECB USA, Inc. v. Savencia Cheese USA, LLC,143 F. 4th 1232 (11th Cir. 2025). Schratter Foods Incorporated was a Delaware corporation headquartered in New…
Tag: Personal jurisdiction
Foreign IP-Holding Companies May Be Subject to Personal Jurisdiction in Federal Court Based on Registration and Enforcement of U.S. Trademarks
In a significant decision for foreign companies with U.S. trademarks, the Eleventh Circuit held that a foreign intellectual-property holding company can be subject to personal jurisdiction in U.S. courts based solely on its registration and strategic use of U.S. trademarks. The court’s opinion, Jekyll Island-State Park Authority v. Polygroup Macau Limited, 2025 WL 1637952,…
Foreign Parent Company Not Subject to Personal Jurisdiction Based Solely on Actions of Subsidiary, and Expert Testimony Properly Excluded as Unreliable in Products-Liability Case
In the absence of facts supporting piercing the corporate veil or rendering affiliated companies alter egos, the actions of a subsidiary alone cannot subject a foreign parent company to personal jurisdiction in Florida, the Eleventh Circuit recently confirmed. The court’s decision in Knepfle v. J-Tech Corp., 2022 U.S. App. LEXIS 25781 (11th Cir. Sept. 14,…
Court Confirms That Same Personal-Jurisdiction Standards Apply Under Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments
In Herederos de Roberto Gomez Cabrera, LLC v. Teck Resources Ltd., 2022 U.S. App. LEXIS 22473 (11th Cir. Aug. 12, 2022), the Eleventh Circuit held that the “minimum contacts” analysis applied to determine the existence of personal jurisdiction under the Fourteenth Amendment also applies when jurisdiction is asserted under the Fifth Amendment. The case involved…
Eleventh Circuit Upholds “Floating” Forum Selection Clause
In AFC Franchising, LLC v. Purugganan, 2022 U.S. App. LEXIS 22323 (11th Cir. Aug. 11, 2022), the Eleventh Circuit held that an individual consented to personal jurisdiction and venue by agreeing to a “floating” forum selection clause. Danilo Purugganan entered into a “Master Developer Agreement” with Doctors Express Franchising in 2009. The parties agreed that…
Get Back to Where You Once Belonged? Court Affirms Dismissal for Lack of Personal Jurisdiction and in Light of Forum Selection Clause
In Don’t Look Media LLC v. Fly Victor Ltd., 999 F.3d 1284 (11th Cir. June 4, 2021), the Eleventh Circuit affirmed the dismissal of RICO and state-law claims against an English company and its directors and officers for lack of personal jurisdiction and in light of the forum selection clause included in the parties’ contract….
Derivative Jurisdiction Doctrine Does Not Apply to Personal Jurisdiction
In the category of legal doctrines that have outlived whatever usefulness that they once had falls the doctrine of “derivative jurisdiction”—that a federal district court must dismiss a removed case if the state court from which it was removed lacked subject-matter jurisdiction. The doctrine was repealed by statute for cases removed under the general removal…
Court Rejects Challenges to SEC Subpoenas
The Eleventh Circuit rejected jurisdictional and relevance challenges to SEC subpoenas in SEC v. Marin, 982 F.3d 1341 (11th Cir. 2020). The SEC issued subpoenas to Carla Marin and MinTrade Technologies pursuant to a formal order of investigation (“FOI”) authorizing the Commission to investigate whether a Tampa-based limited liability company called Traders Café, and its…