Summary
The Ninth Circuit reversed the dismissal of SuperTECH, Inc.'s action against My Choice Software, LLC for lack of personal jurisdiction. The court held that My Choice purposefully availed itself of the privilege of conducting business in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands and purposefully directed its activities there, that the claims arose out of those contacts, and that exercising jurisdiction was reasonable. The court applied the Ninth Circuit's en banc decision in Briskin v. Shopify, Inc. and remanded for further proceedings.
Court
United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
Jurisdiction
United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
Decision date
October 23, 2025
Docket number
24-2110
Disposition
reversed
Questions Presented
- Whether the alleged facts established specific personal jurisdiction over My Choice in the CNMI under purposeful-availment or purposeful-direction principles.
- Whether SuperTECH's claims arose out of or related to My Choice's forum-related contacts.
- Whether exercising specific personal jurisdiction over My Choice would comport with fair play and substantial justice.
Holdings
- My Choice purposefully availed itself of the privilege of doing business in the CNMI because it contracted with a CNMI company, agreed to deliver its product to the CNMI, and knew the product was intended for use in the CNMI by the CNMI government.
- My Choice purposefully directed its activities toward the CNMI because it intentionally communicated and acted with knowledge that SuperTECH was based in the CNMI, that the software would be used there, and that the transaction involved satisfying the CNMI government's specifications.
- The arising-out-of-or-relating-to requirement was satisfied, or at least was not contested on appeal, because neither party argued that SuperTECH's claims did not arise out of My Choice's contacts with the CNMI.
- My Choice failed to demonstrate that exercising specific personal jurisdiction in the CNMI would be unfair or unjust.
- SuperTECH alleged facts sufficient to establish specific personal jurisdiction over My Choice in the CNMI, so the district court's dismissal for lack of personal jurisdiction was reversed.
Court Document
Open PDFLoading document…