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Civil Procedure Keyed to Hazard
Burnham v. Superior Court of California
Citation:
495 U.S. 604, 110 S.Ct. 2105, 109 Ed.2d 631 (1990)
ProfessorTodd Berman
CaseCast™ – "What you need to know"
Facts
Dennis Burnham (Petitioner) and his wife, New Jersey residents, agreed to divorce in 1987 for irreconcilable differences. Mrs. Burnham moved to California with their two children. Petitioner filed for divorce in New Jersey but never served Mrs. Burnham. While on a business trip in California, Petitioner visited his children and Mrs. Burnham served him with California court summons and divorce papers. Petitioner moved to quash the summons on the ground that California lacked personal jurisdiction over him because he did not have minimum contacts with the forum state.
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