Burger King V. Rudzewicz - Procedure

Procedure

Burger King brought a diversity action pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1332(a) against the defendants in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida in May 1981. Burger King also invoked the Court's original jurisdiction over disputes arising under federal trademark law pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1338(a). The District Court held that Florida had jurisdiction because of a statute that allowed the state to extend jurisdiction to anyone breaching a contract within the state. The United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit reversed the lower court's decision, finding that even though the defendants had minimum contacts with Florida, to exercise jurisdiction over the defendants would be fundamentally unfair and thus violate the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. Burger King then appealed to the Supreme Court.