Keeton v. Hustler Magazine, Inc.

465 U.S. 770 (1984)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

P, a resident of New York, brought a libel suit against D, an Ohio corporation, in New Hampshire. P alleged jurisdiction by reason of diversity of citizenship. P's only connection with New Hampshire is the circulation of a magazine that she assists in producing. D's contacts with New Hampshire consist of monthly sales of about 10000 or so copies of its nationally published magazine. The District Court dismissed her suit because holding that the Due Process forbade the application of New Hampshire's long-arm statute in order to acquire personal jurisdiction over D. The Court of Appeals affirmed. The Court of Appeals held that P's lack of contacts with New Hampshire rendered the State's interest in redressing the tort of libel to P too attenuated for an assertion of personal jurisdiction over D. It observed that the 'single publication rule' ordinarily applicable in multistate libel cases would require it to award P 'damages caused in all states' should she prevail in her suit, even though the bulk of P's alleged injuries had been sustained outside New Hampshire. New Hampshire was the only State where P's suit would not have been time-barred when it was filed. The Supreme Court granted certiorari.