Page:Jackson v FIE Corp.pdf/4

No. 07-30936 challenged that issue in its initial appeal. Id. at 521 & n.6 (noting that the issue of which party bears the burden of proof in a Rule 60(b)(4) challenge to personal jurisdiction has split circuit and district courts). Therefore, Fratelli Tanfoglio bore the burden of affirmatively proving that the court did not have either specific or general jurisdiction.

The district court, however, frequently referenced Plaintiffs’ inability to produce evidence in support of the court’s jurisdiction over Plaintiffs’ claims. For instance, the district court concluded that “there is insufficient evidence in the record to support [P]laintiffs’ contention” that their cause of action arises from Fratelli Tanfoglio’s forum—related contacts, Tanfoglio II, 2007 WL 1259216, at *6, and “there is no evidence in the record” demonstrating continuous or systematic contacts with Louisiana, id. at *7. Thus, the district court found in favor of Fratelli Tanfoglio after concluding that Plaintiffs had not presented sufficient evidence to establish the court’s jurisdiction.

The proper inquiry, however, was not whether there was sufficient evidence of the court’s jurisdiction, but rather whether there was sufficient evidence to prove that Fratelli Tanfoglio was not subject to the court’s jurisdiction. For example, Fratelli Tanfoglio could have proved that the court lacked specific jurisdiction by providing sufficient evidence that it did not manufacture the pistol—such as by proving who did manufacture the pistol. Fratelli Tanfoglio could have shown that the court did not have general jurisdiction over Plaintiffs’ claims by providing evidence that its contacts with the forum were not continuous and systematic. Regardless of how Fratelli Tanfoglio was to meet its burden, the important point for the present appeal is that it was Fratelli Tanfoglio’s burden. The district court erred in failing to hold Fratelli Tanfoglio to its burden and holding the lack of evidence against Plaintiffs. 4