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Personal Jurisdiction Roundup

By Stan Soocher
August 01, 2016

The issue of whether a court has personal jurisdiction over a party in an entertainment industry lawsuit is determined, as in other types of litigation, on a state-by-state basis, subject to whether this jurisdiction meets due process. The case outcomes vary.

For example, in a music sampling litigation alleging misappropriation and unjust enrichment, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois ruled this summer that distribution activity by an affiliate of defendant UMG Recordings, part of the world's largest music company, didn't create a “substantial connection” between UMG and Illinois for purposes of specific personal jurisdiction (i.e., that arising out of the facts in the case). The district court was satisfied by a UMG affidavit that “avers that UMG and UMGCS [distributor UMG Commercial Services] have the same corporate parent, but they operate separately from each other ' in particular, UMG neither owns nor controls UMGCS.” The court added that plaintiff Syl Johnson “offers no evidence of geographically-focused targeting that could subject UMG to personal jurisdiction on the basis of its alleged online sales.” Johnson v. Barrier, 15-CV-03928.

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