''Keeton v. Hustler Magazine, Inc.'', 465 U.S. 770 (1984), was a case in which the

United States Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...

held that a state could assert

personal jurisdiction Personal jurisdiction is a court's jurisdiction over the ''parties'', as determined by the facts in evidence, which bind the parties to a lawsuit, as opposed to subject-matter jurisdiction, which is jurisdiction over the ''law'' involved in the ...

over the publisher of a national

magazine A magazine is a periodical publication, generally published on a regular schedule (often weekly or monthly), containing a variety of content. They are generally financed by advertising, purchase price, prepaid subscriptions, or by a combinatio ...

which published an allegedly defamatory article about a resident of another state, and where the magazine had wide circulation in that state.

Facts

''Keeton'' was a case for defamation brought by

Kathy Keeton Kathryn "Kathy" Keeton (February 17, 1939 – September 19, 1997) was an American magazine publisher along with her partner, and later husband, ''Penthouse Penthouse most often refers to: *Penthouse apartment, a special apartment on the top fl ...

, a

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

resident and publisher of ''

Penthouse Penthouse most often refers to: *Penthouse apartment, a special apartment on the top floor of a building *Penthouse (magazine), ''Penthouse'' (magazine), a British-founded men's magazine *Mechanical penthouse, a floor, typically located directly u ...

'' magazine, against the nationally distributed ''

Hustler Hustler or hustlers may also refer to: Professions * Hustler, an American slang word, e.g., for a: ** Con man, a practitioner of confidence tricks ** Drug dealer, seller of illegal drugs ** Male prostitute ** Pimp ** Business man, more general ...

'' magazine. The

plaintiff A plaintiff ( Π in legal shorthand) is the party who initiates a lawsuit (also known as an ''action'') before a court. By doing so, the plaintiff seeks a legal remedy. If this search is successful, the court will issue judgment in favor of the p ...

claimed that she was libeled by material published in magazine since 1975, including a cartoon that falsely suggested she had contracted a

sexually transmitted infection Sexually transmitted infections (STIs), also referred to as sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and the older term venereal diseases, are infections that are Transmission (medicine), spread by Human sexual activity, sexual activity, especi ...

from fellow ''Penthouse'' publisher (and her later to be husband)

Bob Guccione Robert Charles Joseph Edward Sabatini Guccione ( ; December 17, 1930 – October 20, 2010) was an American photographer and publisher. He founded the adult magazine ''Penthouse'' in 1965. This was aimed at competing with Hugh Hefner's ''Playboy'', ...

, as well as a nude pictorial spread of a model who was identified as Keeton. Keeton chose to bring the case in

New Hampshire New Hampshire is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...

, even though the plaintiff was not a resident there, because

allowed six years to bring suit under that state's

statute of limitations A statute of limitations, known in civil law systems as a prescriptive period, is a law passed by a legislative body to set the maximum time after an event within which legal proceedings may be initiated. ("Time for commencing proceedings") In m ...

, which is longer than any other state. Also, New Hampshire's "Single Publication Rule" could increase the amount of damages the plaintiff could collect by accounting for publication in all 50 states.

Issue

The issue was whether the federal court had personal jurisdiction if the case was brought in New Hampshire, by a

from a foreign state against a nationally circulated magazine.

Opinion of the Court

The

U.S. Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...

upheld

, stating that the

in a case had never been required to have "minimum contacts" in a state to bring suit in that state and since the magazine did conduct business within the state of

Other developments

Keeton was later awarded a $2 million judgment by a New Hampshire jury. This case was decided at the same time as '' Calder v. Jones'', which held that a state had personal jurisdiction over author or editor of an article published in a magazine widely circulated in the state the case was brought, if the claim brought was that the article was libelous about activities in the state by a resident of state.. Like ''Keeton'', Rehnquist authored a unanimous decision there. However, key differences between the cases were that ''Calder'' involved a plaintiff suing in her state of residence and she was suing the author and editor involved in the piece in addition to the newspaper itself, while ''Keeton'' involved a plaintiff suing only the magazine itself.

References

External links

*{{caselaw source , case=''Keeton v. Hustler Magazine, Inc.,'' 465 U.S. 770 (1984) , cornell = , courtlistener =https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/111116/keeton-v-hustler-magazine-inc/ , findlaw = , googlescholar = https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=3371406121479205546 , justia =https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/465/770/case.html , openjurist = , oyez = United States Supreme Court cases 20th-century American trials 1984 in United States case law United States personal jurisdiction case law United States defamation case law Penthouse (magazine) Larry Flynt Publications United States Supreme Court cases of the Burger Court

Facts

Issue

Opinion of the Court

Other developments

See also

References

External links