Commercial Litigation and Arbitration

Judicial Notice of Internet Evidence — Party’s Website — to Determine Personal Jurisdiction — Corporate Website’s Listing of Locations Presumptively Accurate

Allphin v. Peter K. Fitness, LLC, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 171711 (N.D. Cal. Dec. 11, 2014):

This case arises out of a strict products liability claim by Plaintiff, who contends she was injured while using a defective fitness band. Presently before the Court is a motion brought by third-party and cross-claim defendant Ideal Jacobs (Malaysia) Corporation ("IJ Malaysia") to dismiss third-party plaintiff Peter K. Fitness, LLC's Third Amended Third-Party Complaint, and cross-claimant Fulco Fulfillment, Inc.'s ("Fulco") cross-claim, for lack of personal jurisdiction. See ECF 122. Peter K. Fitness, ECF 127, and Fulco, ECF 124, have both filed oppositions in which they request the Court grant jurisdictional discovery if the Court finds that they have not made a prima facie showing of personal jurisdiction over IJ Malaysia.

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Courts have taken judicial notice of the websites of parties to the litigation when determining personal jurisdiction. See W. Marine, Inc. v. Watercraft Superstore, Inc., 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 18973, 2012 WL 479677, at *9 (N.D. Cal. Feb. 14, 2012) (compiling cases). The Court therefore takes judicial notice of the screenshots from IJ Malaysia's website, exhibits G through K, and the screenshots of Ideal Jacobs Corporation's website, exhibits L through O. See O'Toole v. Northrop Grumman Corp., 499 F.3d 1218, 1225 (10th Cir. 2007) (taking judicial notice of materials included on the website of a defendant [*9]  because those materials were created by the defendant and should therefore not be subject to dispute by the defendant).

Further, "it is not uncommon for courts to take judicial notice of factual information found on the world wide web." Id. (compiling cases). The Court thus takes judicial notice of the "location" webpages in exhibits Q through S, as those facts are not subject to dispute by the parties and it can be presumed that a company, when placing information about its locations on a website, will do so accurately. See id. (citing Grimes v. Navigant Consulting, Inc., 185 F. Supp. 2d 906, 913 (N.D. Ill. 2002)).

 

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