Emily Landers, a lifelong resident of Atlanta, GA, brought suit in federal district court in Atlanta against a publisher, Ace Books, Inc., alleging copyright infringement under the federal copyright statute, for which she sought $100,000 in damages. Ace is incorporated under the laws of Delaware and has its principal place of business in NYC. Emily also filed a claim against Ace alleging that it had breached its agreement with her to publish her book upon receipt of a manuscript.
She sought $60,000 in damages in connection with that claim. In that same suit, Emily also filed a $105,000 tort claim against the president of Ace, Gordon Jackson, a citizen of New York, alleging that he had intentionally inflicted emotional distress upon her by sending emails to dozens of other publishers denouncing her as a horrible writer and a fraud and explaining that those were the reasons for his company’s refusal to publish her book. In this same action, Ace filed a claim against Jackson seeking indemnity for any liability it might accrue in connection with Emily’s copyright infringement claim against it. In response, Jackson filed a breach of contract claim against Ace alleging that Ace had improperly withheld two weeks of salary from him totaling $65,000. Finally, Jackson asserted a tort claim against his neighbor, Sue, claiming that her negligent maintenance of her home significantly depreciated the value of his property, for which he sought an injunction and $45,000 in damages.
Can the court exercise SMJ over Jackson’s breach of contract claim against Ace?