It’s “Purposeful” for a Reason: AMB Media and Purposeful Availment in the Internet Age

Authors

Levi C. Griesing

Document Type

Note

Abstract

(Excerpt)

This Note argues that the Sixth Circuit’s ruling in AMB Media II expands the scope of personal jurisdiction to a degree that prevents fairness and due process for out-of-state defendants. Thus, this Note argues that the purposeful availment inquiry for cases involving generally-available commercial websites should include a targeting requirement—that there must first be an action to solicit business taken on behalf of the defendant in the forum state. Part I will review the goals of the personal jurisdiction doctrine and a brief history of purposeful availment cases before and after the Internet age. Part II will discuss AMB Media and the circuit split on the issue of how to approach purposeful availment in Internet cases. Part III will discuss the faults in the Sixth Circuit’s reasoning in AMB Media and propose a different approach to purposeful availment in Internet cases: a requirement that the defendant target the forum state specifically, with an exception if the course of business in the forum state involves a substantial thousands of sales.