Ishiguro v PARTA The Pennsylvania Area Regional Transit Authority (PARTA) is a public transportation authority that has its principal place of business at 9712 Lancaster Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. PARTA operates bus, rapid transit, commuter light rail, trains, and electric trolleybus services for nearly 4 million people in five counties in and around Philadelphia, PA. PARTA also provides commuter rail service to Delaware and New Jersey. PARTA trains and buses do not serve New York state, but PARTA does sell transit tickets from a New Jersey Transit window at New York's Penn Station in New York City, NY. Kenichi Ishiguro is a 55-year-old resident of New York City, who does not speak English. On October 18, 2021, he boarded a PARTA train in Philadelphia traveling to Wilmington, Delaware. Ishiguro claims that when he reached his destination, the train was leaning to one side, creating a dangerous gap between the train and the platform. As he tried to step from the train over the gap to the platform, Ishiguro said he fell onto the platform and dislocated his right wrist. Ishiguro claims that as a result of his injuries, he needed two surgeries and had to leave his job as a sushi chef. In February 2022, Ishiguro sued PARTA in New York state court. His complaint alleges that PARTA was negligent in operating its commuter train from Philadelphia to Wilmington, Delaware, resulting in his wrist injuries, his medical expenses, and his loss of income. PARTA moved to dismiss the lawsuit, arguing that the NY trial court where Ishiguro filed his lawsuit lacked personal jurisdiction over PARTA, an out-of-state defendant. Section 302 of New York Consolidated Laws, Civil Practice Law and Rules (CPLR 302) is the state's long-arm statute, which grants New York courts personal jurisdiction over non-residents (called non-domiciliaries in the statute) for certain specified acts, specifically where a non-domiciled defendant 1.transacts any business within the state or contracts anywhere to supply goods or services in the state; or 2.commits a tortious act within the state, except as to a cause of action for defamation of character arising from the act; or 3.commits a tortious act outside the state causing injury to person or property within the state ... if he (i)regularly does or solicits business, or engages in any other persistent course of conduct, or derives substantial revenue from goods used or consumed or services rendered, in the state, or (ii)expects or should reasonably expect the act to have consequences in the state and derives substantial revenue from interstate or international commerce; ... You are the judge of the NY state trial court assigned to this case. How do you rule on PARTA's motion to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction? FIRAC Paper Directions Because this is your first FIRAC paper, I'm going to give you more guidance than you'll receive later in the semester when you have more experience using the FIRAC model both to analyze the legal issues and to structure your paper. While this paper raises many potential legal issues, I want you to concentrate exclusively on whether a New York state court has personal jurisdiction over PARTA, an out-of-state transit company. You'll find all the legal rules you need to analyze the scenario in my lectures and other posted course materials -- you do NOT and should NOT attempt to research this legal issue online. In addition, Do NOT discuss whether Ishiguro could also have sued in federal district court based on that court's diversity of citizenship jurisdiction. Do NOT discuss whether PARTA was properly served with notice of the lawsuit (service of process). Do NOT discuss the legal standard for a court to grant a motion to dismiss (in New York state courts or anywhere else). Do NOT discuss the underlying tort issues and whether PARTA can be held liable for the personal injuries Ishiguro sustained when he fell as he exited the PARTA commuter train at the platform in Wilmington, Delaware. Those issues only become important IF the court has jurisdiction over the lawsuit. If you have questions about the FIRAC model and how to use it in writing your paper, go back and look at the readings and videos posted on iCollege.