MBE Rules · Civil Procedure
Tag jurisdiction
Burnham
The rule
Physical presence in the forum at the time of service establishes PJ for any claim, even unrelated to the forum. Survives International Shoe under Burnham v. Superior Court. Exception: presence procured by fraud or coercion.
In plain English
If you're physically in a state and get served legal papers there, that state can handle the case, even if it has nothing to do with the state.
Worked example
While visiting State A for a vacation, the defendant is served with a lawsuit. Even though the case is about a business deal in State B, State A can still hear the case because the defendant was there when served.
Memory hook
Tag, You're It! Presence = power. Serve papers while they're in the state, and you've got jurisdiction, no matter the claim.
The trap
Students think: Presence must relate to the claim. Wrong, because Burnham allows jurisdiction based solely on physical presence, regardless of claim connection.
How examiners test it
The MBE loves: defendant visiting state briefly for unrelated reasons, gets served. Trap: students overthink claim relevance — presence alone suffices under Burnham.
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