Burnham V. Superior Court of California - Issue and Result

Issue and Result

At common law, recognized by the Supreme Court in Pennoyer v. Neff (1877), a civil action was commenced by serving process on the defendant within the forum jurisdiction. Service on a defendant within the forum state created jurisdiction over the defendant regardless of whether the defendant was a resident of the state or was merely visiting it, and regardless of whether the subject-matter of the lawsuit had anything to do with the defendant's activities in the state.

Subsequently, in International Shoe Co. v. Washington (1946) and Shaffer v. Heitner (1977), the Supreme Court held that the Due Process Clause requires that a state's exercise of personal jurisdiction over a defendant must comport with "traditional notions of fair play and substantial justice," at least when the defendant was not served with process in the forum state.

The issue in Burnham was whether, in light of International Shoe and Shaffer, service on a non-resident visiting a state remained a constitutionally sufficient basis for the exercise of personal jurisdiction over the non-resident.