Civil Procedure Keyed to Subrin
Burger King Corp. v. Rudzewicz
ProfessorTodd Berman
CaseCast™ – "What you need to know"
Facts
Defendant John Rudzewicz, a Michigan citizen and resident applied jointly, along with Brian MacShara, for a franchise to Plaintiff’s Birmingham, Michigan, district office in the autumn of 1978. Plaintiff’s headquarters are in Florida, but operates regional offices that supervise franchisees in their areas. During the negotiations with Plaintiff, Defendant negotiated both with the Plaintiff’s Birmingham district office and with the Miami headquarters. Shortly after the agreement was signed, business at the franchise began to deteriorate. After rent payments fell behind, Plaintiff sued Defendant and MacShara in federal district court in Florida, invoking both diversity and trademark jurisdiction. Plaintiff and MacShara challenged personal jurisdiction, and the district judge rejected their challenge. A divided panel of the 11th Circuit reversed the judgment, and Plaintiff appealed to the Supreme Court of the United States.
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