I doubt Cohen’s motion will succeed as his telephone communications, voice and text, with the California based attorney directly on the subject of the lawsuit, should be deemed sufficient minimum contacts with California for its long arm jurisdiction statute to give the California based court jurisdiction over Cohen.
Cohen’s spurious motion is a Hail Mary pass. California can easily assert jurisdiction. He’s desperate.
Huh. Cohen’s lawyers would appear to be in funds. I wonder from what source? And pretty combative. News that Cohen has jumped ship and become one of the good guys would appear to be premature, as many people here have already observed. If Cohen intended to flip to Mueller, it seems fairly likely that he could have reached an accommodation with Avenatti and flipped in the Daniels suit too, so to speak. Something along the lines of “I’ll admit to collusion but you need to drop all claims against me on and get off my back generally and aim your weapons at Trump exclusively and maybe even indemnify me against any action brought by Trump.”
Update: Thinking about this further, it occurs to me that Cohen can’t admit to colluding with Davidson, even if Avenatti agrees to drop all remedial claims, because that would land Cohen in disbarment difficulties of a terminal nature.
The federal venue statute specifically allows suit to be brought in a district where “any defendant is subject to the court’s personal jurisdiction with respect to such action.” There is no doubt that Davidson, a California attorney who is one of the defendants, is subject to personal jurisdiction in the Central District of California, where Davidson lives and practices law, based on the allegations in the complaint. Rule 11 sanctions might be appropriate.
Mikey, Mikey, Mikey, quit tilting at windmills about to slice you up, and flip already…
Yes, this would appear to be an entirely understandable but rather desperate attempt. Actual lawyers may have a better sense of its likely success or failure.
Ratcheting up even more the level of desperation and sleaze.
Cohen is in NY. The question is whether Cohen has sufficient contacts with CA to make it constitutionally OK for him to be hauled into court there. Here, there’s a series of intentional acts – that’s what the court is going to have to weigh. that’s what the fight is about, and Davidson’s location has nothing whatsoever to do with it.
Venue is a separate ground for challenging the presence of a case in a particular forum, on the grounds that another one might be more convenient. But it assumes the jurisdiction of the underlying court.
You’re mixing apples and aardvarks.
I don’t practice civil law, so I rarely encounter these issues. That said, venue is a distinct concept from jurisdiction. I don’t think that filing in a proper venue helps to establish personal jurisdiction over a defendant.
I don’t have time to research this, but the 9th Circuit Peterson case cited by Cohen is pretty negative about establishing jurisdiction based on phone calls, mail, etc… I hope Daniels’ response is also posted online so we can read the other side of the argument.
Daniels lives in CA. At least 1 (if not more) of the incidents Trump is trying to keep quiet took place in CA. She’s basically the only legit party to the contract which is the subject of this particular law suit. The negotiations took place between NY and CA via communications to Davidson’s Beverly Hills office. The money was transferred to a bank in CA. Davidson is an attorney with a license to practice in CA. Not even sure he has a NY license. I think they’ve established minimum contacts with the CA forum.
It sounds to me that it should be in California state court — but please let it be LA or SF. There appears to be sufficient minimum contacts for California jurisdiction. What would be the basis for federal jurisdiction? It can’t be diversity if one of the defendants lives in California. Is there some federal statute at issue?
ETA: if he prevails, it doesn’t mean he wins the case; she can sue him elsewhere. One of the factors that the court looks at is whether there is another suitable available forum.
I wish this skanky traitor the justice and punishment he deserves. I hope the police “mess this skank’s life up … for as long as he on this frickin’ planet … I hope this thug is going to have judgments against him, so much money, that he never gets out from underneath it.”
Lock him up, use enhanced interrogation, freeze his bank accounts, take away his children do, deport him to Guantanomo, I am all for whatever it takes to neutralize this national security threat. This is as important to national security as steel and aluminum, First Lady Ivanka’s silicone and Justice Roberts’ Muslim ban.
May be Ivanka will have one of her Russian friends help grant Michael Cohen’s publicly stated wish to do whatever it takes to help the family. That would be great for Michael, his family, the Skanky-Manslut crime family and to America. It would be so much winning.
Michael Cohen: Man of old-fashioned integrity.
Thank GOD water boarding is NOT torture!! We can use it on Republican filth!!
Of course, Chief Justice Johnny Roberts will say that that you can do whatever you want in the name of national security if you are a Republican.
Oh how I love the description of the trump crime family. “Skanky Manslut” is exactly what he is And, of course, “crime family” is the only description one can truthfully use when describing the entire family.
.
Working with Mueller to drop the criminal charges is one thing, that doesn’t make Avenatti go away. Although with Avenattii might be happy with Cohen flipping and bringing down the president. Who knows? But they’re not connected.
I don’t see how Cohen escapes this with his law license in tact. He’s done so much illegal stuff for Trump over the years that it seems an impossibility to me.