Jurisdictional Discovery Compelled to Determine Whether Foreign Defendants Fall Within Federal Long-Arm Jurisdiction
Goss Int'l Am., Inc. v. Graphic Management Assocs., Inc., No. 05 C 5622, 2007 WL 161684 (N.D. Ill. Jan. 11, 2007) (Valdez, Mag. J.).
Magistrate Judge Valdez compelled certain foreign defendants (the "Swiss Defendants") to produce documents related to each Swiss Defendant's contacts with the United States. After plaintiff filed its patent infringement claims against the defendants, the Swiss Defendants filed motions to dismiss the case for lack of jurisdiction. They argued that no state had personal jurisdiction over them. Plaintiff responded that the Court had jurisdiction pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 4(k)(2), the federal long-arm statute. Plaintiff also sought jurisdiction-related discovery to prove the necessary jurisdictional facts. The Court granted jurisdictional discovery and, based upon that decision, compelled the Swiss Defendants to produce documents relevant to their contacts with the United States after the Swiss Defendants refused to produce them pursuant to plaintiff's discovery requests.
