Civil Procedure — personal jurisdiction

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United States Court of Appeals For the Seventh Circuit

Civil

Civil Procedure — personal jurisdiction

Where the defendant sent communications to plaintiffs in Wisconsin, urging them to continue to make installment payments on a contract signed in Arizona, Wisconsin courts have personal jurisdiction over the defendant.

“Felland’s complaint alleges that Clifton’s repeated communications to his Wisconsin home were part of a deliberate attempt to lull him into a false sense of security and to induce him to make the installment payments. While these communications might not be directly relevant to a simple breach-of-contract claim, they are critical to Felland’s claim of intentional misrepresentation. Clifton was aware that Felland lived in Wisconsin, directed multiple communications to him there, and knew that the harm would be felt in Wisconsin. These allegations are sufficient to establish the minimum contacts necessary to satisfy the due-process requirements for jurisdiction over Clifton in Wisconsin. We also conclude that Clifton’s communications satisfy the ‘local act or omission’ provision of the Wisconsin long-arm statute.”

Reversed and Remanded.

11-1839 Felland v. Clifton

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin, Crocker, Mag. J., Sykes, J.