Internet Library of Law
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SF Hotel Company, L.P. et al v. Energy Investments, Inc., et al

Court holds that non-resident defendants' operation out-of-state of a passive website which provides information to forum residents about an out-of-state hotel, but neither sells services to forum residents (such as taking reservations) nor provides for direct communications between the forum resident and the website operator, is insufficient to establish general personal jurisdiction over the out-of-state defendant. In reaching this conclusion, the court relied on Zippo Mfg. Co. v. Zippo Dot Com, 952 F. Supp 1119 (W.D. Pa. 1997) and its 'sliding scale' analysis of the contacts necessary to establish personal jurisdiction -- particularly its determination that "a passive website that does little more than make information available to those interested in it is not grounds for the exercise of personal jurisdiction."