Question

Seal Polymer Industries sold two freight containers of latex gloves to Med-Express, Inc., a com- pany based in North Carolina. When Med-Express failed to pay the $104,000 owed for the gloves, Seal Polymer sued in an Illinois court and obtained a judgment against Med-Express. Med-Express argued that it did not have minimum contacts with Illinois and therefore the Illinois judgment based on per- sonal jurisdiction was invalid. Med-Express stated that it was incorporated under North Carolina law, had its principal place of business in North Carolina, and therefore had no minimum contacts with Illinois.

Required:
Was this statement alone sufficient to prevent the Illinois judgment from being collected against Med-Express in North Carolina?

Answer 1

Seal Polymer Industries (SPI) can sue Med-Express in an Illinois court due to the minimum contacts doctrine. This is an actual court case that the North Carolina Court of Appeals ruled in favor of SPI. The minimum contacts rule states that in order for a business to be sued in another jurisdiction it must have maintained minimum contacts with residents of that state. Minimum contacts may include making business with individuals or companies that reside in the other state, visiting the other state or incorporating in the other state. In this case, Med-Express made business with SPI, and SPI is a resident of Illinois.