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Conflict of Laws Keyed to Brilmayer
Burnham v. Superior Court of California
Citation:
495 U.S. 604 (1990)Facts
Defendant, Dennis Burnham, married Plaintiff, Francie Burnham, in 1976 in West Virginia. In 1977, the couple moved to New Jersey and had two children. In 1987, the Burhnams decided to separate. They agreed that Francie would take custody of the children and move to California. Prior to departing for California, Francie and Dennis agreed that she would file for divorce on the grounds of “irreconcilable differences.” In October 1987, Dennis filed for divorce in New Jersey state court on grounds of “desertion.” Dennis did not attempt to serve Francie with process. In January 1988, after unsuccessfully demanding that Dennis adhere to their prior agreement of filing for divorce on grounds of irreconcilable differences, Francie brought suit in California Superior Court for divorce.
In January 1988, Dennis visited southern California for business and then travelled north to the San Francisco Bay area to visit his children. During this time, Francie served Dennis with a California court summons and a copy of her divorce petition. Dennis then returned to New Jersey. Dennis then made a special appearance in the California court, moving to quash the service of process on the ground that the court lacked personal jurisdiction over him. Dennis argued that his only contacts with California were a few short visits to the state. The Superior Court denied Dennis’ motion, and the California Court of Appeal denied mandamus relief. The U.S. Supreme Court granted Dennis’ petition for certiorari.
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