Calder V. Jones 465 U.S

Business Ethics: Calder v. Jones 465 U.S

Abstract

The National Enquirer, Inc. is a Florida corporation with its principal place of business in

Florida. It publishes the National Enquirer, a national weekly newspaper with a total circulation of more than 5 million copies. About 600,000 copies, almost twice the level in the next highest state, are sold in California. The National Enquirer published an article about Shirley Jones, an entertainer. Jones, a California resident, filed a lawsuit in California state court against the National Enquirer and its president, who was a resident of Florida. The California lawsuit sought damages for alleged defamation, invasion of privacy, and intentional infliction of emotional distress. Calder v. Jones, 465 U.S. 783, 104 S.Ct. 1482, 79 L.Ed.2d 804, Web 1984 U.S. Lexis 4 (Supreme Court of the United States)

Nature of the claim filed by plaintiff

In the case of Calder v. Jones the plaintiff Jones brought a civil case of defamation, invasion of privacy and emotional distress against the National Enquirer and its sitting president. The claim of defamation “is the issuance of a false statement about another person, which causes that person to suffer harm” (Defamation, Libel and Slander, August, 2003). In this case the plaintiff Jones stipulates under the elements of defamation that false defamatory statements were made, that the publication made defamatory statements in a printed medium (Defamation, Libel and Slander, August, 2003), and that these statements resulted in personal damage.

Applicability of long-arm statute to National enquirer and its President

Long-arm statute is defined as the ability to give the “local state court jurisdiction over an out-of-state company or individual whose actions caused damage locally or to a local resident’ (ALM Media Properties, LLC, 2011). The National enquirer and its President knowingly sold and distributed said newspaper-magazine in the state of California, this...