Response to Hypo 2.5 Marine Figueroa-Scalia 3-Due no later Thu.

5pm.

The answer to this Hypo may vary depending on the approach taken, and
the rule being applied.

Under the rule of Justice O’Connor, the foreseeability of the action of making
a tiny product such as the mini gun, it is totally irrelevant. Mini Gun, Inc.,
placed a product in the stream of commerce, and the stream eventually
swept defendant’s (Mini Gun) product into the forum State, but the
defendant did nothing else to purposefully avail itself of the market in the
forum State. The substantial connection between Mini Gun, Inc., and New
Mexico necessary for a finding of minimum contacts must come about by
any action of Mini Gun, Inc. purposefully directed toward the forum State.
The mere placement of the mini guns into the stream of commerce, without
more, is not an act of the defendant purposefully directed toward the forum
state. In this case, the guns were not designed in the forum State, there
were not channels established to provide regular advice to customers in the
forum State, or any marketing of the product through a distributor who
agreed to serve as a sales agent in the forum State. The aforementioned set
of factors, reveal the unreasonableness of the assertion of jurisdiction over
Mini Gun, Inc. The burden of the defendant in this case is severe. The unique
burdens placed upon one who must defend oneself in a foreign legal system
should have significant weight in asserting the reasonableness of stretching
the long arm of personal jurisdiction over State borders. The reason of the
plaintiff and the forum in New Mexico assertion of jurisdiction is light.
Furthermore, the transaction on which the products liability action is based
took place in Texas; the mini guns were manufactured in Wyoming and
shipped to Texas. HB Toys has not demonstrated that it is more convenient
for it to litigate this claim against Mini Gun, Inc. in Texas rather than in New
Mexico. The exercise of personal jurisdiction by a New Mexico Court over
Mini Gun, Inc. in this case would be unreasonable and unfair.

But plaintiff in this case is a New Mexico resident. Shouldn’t this court have
legitimate interest in this dispute?
Aren’t States interested in protecting its consumers by ensuring that foreign
manufacturers comply with the state’s safety standards?
On the other hand, however, if considering Justice Brennan’s approach,
exercising personal jurisdiction over Mini Gun, Inc. in a New Mexico court, is
consistent with fair play and substantial justice. Based on this approach, the
stream of commerce refers not to unpredictable currents or eddies, but to
the regular and anticipated flow of products from manufacture to distribution
to retail sale. As long a Mini Gun, Inc. was aware that the final product was
being marketed in the forum State, the possibility of a law suit or in this
case product liability action, cannot come as a surprise. The litigation will not
present a burden for which there is not corresponding benefit. In the
present case, Mini Gun Inc. was fully aware of how the mini gun was
incorporated into the George Dolls, and for ten years, they new that these
guns had been selling 1000 per year in New Mexico. Mini Gun, Inc. has been
economically benefited by placing these mini guns in the stream of
commerce, for the retail sale of the final product in New Mexico, therefore
indirectly benefited from the State’s laws that regulate and facilitate
commercial activity. These benefits accrue regardless of whether that
participant directly conduct business in the forum State, or engages in
additional conduct directed toward that State. In this case, the minimum
requirements inherent in the concept of fair play and substantial justice may
defeat the reasonableness of jurisdiction even if defendant has purposefully
engage in forum activities. Moreover, and following the same approach, the
placement of the mini guns into the stream of commerce requires a
constitutional determination that is affected by the volume, the value, and
the hazardous character of the components.
09/14/2010
09/14/2010