Washington, D.C. Attorneys Judith Lysaught and Brian Scotti Obtain Dismissal of Corporate Defendant Due to Lack of Personal Jurisdiction in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland


September 2019

Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani Washington, D.C. attorneys Judith Lysaught and Brian Scotti obtained complete dismissal of a corporate, cloud-based identity and access management provider headquartered in California due to lack of personal jurisdiction in the United States District Court for the District of Maryland. The plaintiff, a global cloud software company incorporated in Maryland, claimed that Gordon & Rees’ clients breached a non-solicitation agreement and intentionally interfered with certain employment contracts with respect to two former employees who left the plaintiff’s employment to work with the defendants.

Gordon & Rees filed a Motion to Dismiss the plaintiff’s claim against the corporate defendant, arguing that the state of Maryland did not have personal jurisdiction over the defendant.  The defendant’s contacts with the State of Maryland were not sufficient to constitute “general jurisdiction”.  Nor did defendant’s limited contacts with the State constitute “specific jurisdiction”, because the cause of action did not arise out of such contacts.  Thus, the exercise of personal jurisdiction over the defendant would offend traditional notions of fair play and substantial justice. The court agreed, dismissing the intentional interference claim against the corporate defendant.

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