Jurisdiction (Personal)

• Author: International Law Group

Yahoo! Inc. (defendant) is a prominent internet service provider (ISP) based in Santa Clara, California. In its internet "chat rooms", discussions of Nazi doctrines have taken place and defendant's action website has featured Nazi memorabilia. In April 2000, the French "Ligue Contre Le Racisme et L'Antisemitisme" (LICRA) and the L'Union Des Etudiants Juifs De France (UEJF) sued defendant in a French court and served it in California.

Section R645-2 of the French Criminal Code bans the marketing of Nazi propaganda materials. In response, defendant had taken all such materials off of its French website, but they are still available through its American site. The French court also ordered defendant to remove such materials from all of its internet sites.

In turn, defendant filed an action in California federal court for a declaratory judgment that the French court's orders were not recognizable by, or enforceable in, U.S. courts. The district court found that it had personal jurisdiction over LICRA and UEJF (1) because of the cease-and-desist letter that LICRA had sent to defendant's California headquarters, (2) because it had used the U.S. Marshals Service to perfect process, and (3) because LICRA and UEJF had asked the French court to order defendant to stop doing certain acts within the U.S.

In the court's view, these actions had constituted "express aiming" within the meaning of Calder v. Jones, 465 U.S. 783 (1984), and were enough of a basis for personal jurisdiction. The district court eventually declared that the French court's orders were unenforceable in the U.S. and gave summary judgment to defendant. See 2001 International Law Update 184.

LICRA and UEJF appealed the district court's judgment. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirms, however, finding that the district court was unable to obtain personal jurisdiction over LICRA and UEJF.

The Court...