Civil Procedure Law Professors' Brief Amicus Curiae in Support of Plaintiffs-Appellants, Douglass v. Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha (5th Cir. No. 20-30382)

Abstract

Amicus Curiae Brief on behalf of Professors Helen Hershkoff, Arthur R. Miller, Alan B. Morrison, John E. Sexton, and Adam N. Steinman

This appeal raises an important question regarding Rule 4(k)(2) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, which provides for personal jurisdiction for claims based on federal law when no state court would have jurisdiction. This brief argues that the district court mistakenly held that the Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment, which applies to the federal courts, imposes the same constraints on federal courts as the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, which applies to the state courts. In the view of amici, that ruling was not only in error, but, if upheld, would render Rule 4(k)(2) a virtual nullity. Amici provide the Court with a reading of Rule 4(k)(2) that properly authorizes jurisdiction for federal law claims when a non-US defendant does systematic and continuous business in the United States, and when that business relates generally to the plaintiffs’ claims, as is the case here.

Keywords: Personal Jurisdiction, Due Process, Fifth Amendment, Rule 4(k)(2)

JEL Classification: K00, K10, K40, K41