Harry and Kay Robinson of New York purchased a new Audi automobile from World Wi

Question

Harry and Kay Robinson of New York purchased a new Audi automobile from World Wide Volkswagen (WWV) in New York. After having an accident in Oklahoma, they brought a product liability action against WWV. The case was brought to court in Oklahoma. The Robinsons claimed that the injuries they suffered were caused by the defective design and placement of their automobiles gas tank and fuel system. WWV, which was incorporated in New York and did business there, contended that the Robinsons could not sue WWV in Oklahoma because it was not a citizen of Oklahoma. WWV further contented that it performed no services, owned no property, and closed no sales in Oklahoma. It solicited no business in Oklahoma either through sale persons or through advertising. It also did not indirectly through other serve or seek to serve the Oklahoma market. Did the Oklahoma state court have jurisdiction over WWV? Explain.

Explanation / Answer

The attorney of the Robinsons at Oklahoma brought the case in state court in Creek County, Oklahoma, it being the county in which the accident had happened. As the case met all the necessities for simultaneous authority in both state and federal court, Audi and Volkswagen could have had the ability to ask for the lawsuit to be detached from state court in Creek County and to be moved directly to the federal court. The important factor which rules the synchronized jurisdiction is the diversity of citizenship, or whether both the parties involved in the case are belonging to the same state. Suppose in the case of many defendants if at least one defendant is a citizen of the state the concurrent federal jurisdiction does not apply and the case cannot be removed to federal court unless the case concerns a matter of federal law.

It has therefore been stated that the reason the Robinsons' attorney added the New York regional distributor and New York dealership as defendants was to prevent Audi and Volkswagen from being able to remove the case from what was generally seen as a Creek County.

On research on this topic it was found that the Robinsons had not yet completed a move to Arizona, so they were still considered to be legal residents of New York. It is alos been identified that the Robinsons had initially sued only Volkswagen of America, World-Wide, and Seaway. Later Volkswagenwerk Aktiengesellschaft (Volkswagen AG), the German parent company had alos been included after amendment of the lawsuit.

Analysis of this case onine also provided details regarding the second amendment which had been made only after knowing that Audi NSU Auto Union Aktiengesellschaft (Audi AG) was the manufacturing parent company rather than Volkswagen AG; they substituted Audi AG for Volkswagen AG.

When they were brought in as defendants in the case, World-Wide and Seaway claimed that Oklahoma’s exercise of personal or in personam jurisdiction over them would offend the limitations on states' jurisdiction imposed by the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States; they asked to be removed from the suit. Audi and Volkswagen, which sold cars in the state of Oklahoma, did not try to assert that the Oklahoma state court had no jurisdiction over them.

The Supreme Court of the United States of America had reversed the decision of the federal appeals court and gone in with the World-Wide and Seaway that Oklahoma did not have jurisdiction over them.

A particular clause called The Due Process Clause in the 14th Amendment curtails the power of a state court to workout personal or in personam jurisdiction against a nonresident offender. Due process requires that the part of the case should be provided with adequate notice of the case.

A state court may have personal jurisdiction over a nonresident only till the point where there exist "minimum contacts" between the case holder and the state.

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