Business Law Problems

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Part I.
1. Mr. Soretoe should commence his law suit in the State of Green, as that is where the event giving rise to the cause of action occurred. The courts in that jurisdiction should not have any problem getting general jurisdiction over Mary because apparently she travels through there on her way to work; therefore she has minimum contacts with the State of Green under International Shoe v. Washington. However, Mr. Soretoe also could bring the suit in the State of Violet, as that is where Mary lives, and if Mr. Soretoe obtains a judgment against Mary, he can file it with the clerk in the State of Violet, and if Mary does not pay the judgment, he can get a judgment lien (personal property) or a writ of execution (real property) against Mary's property in the State of Violet and have the sherriff seize and sell the property to pay off the judgment.

2. I'm not 100 percent positive on this one, but after reading Fed. R. Civ. Pro. 4(k) (territorial limits on effective service), it seems that if the courts in the State of Blue could not get general jurisdiction over Mary, then the service of process on Mary in that state will not be effective. If Mary refuses to answer, she could suffer a default judgment against her in the State of Violet, but she could contest the default judgment by claiming the service of process was ineffective, and she'd most likely win.

3. Under Fed. R. Civ. Pro. 5(b)(1), if Mary is already represented by an attorney, service can be made on the attorney unless the court orders service on Mary. Under Fed. R. Civ. Pro. 5(b)(2), if Mary is not already represented by an attorney, or the court orders service on Mary, service can be made by: (A) delivering a copy to Mary served by: (i) handing it to her, (ii) leaving it at her office with a clerk or other person in charge, or if no one is in charge, leaving it in a conspicuous place in the office, or (iii) if Mary does not have an office, or the office is closed, leaving it at Mary's dwelling house or usual place of abode with someone of suitable age and discretion residing at the dwelling house; (B) mailing a copy to Mary's last known address (service will be complete on mailing the summons); (C) if Mary has no known address, leaving a copy with the clerk of the court; (D) delivering a copy by ...