2.1 Standing to Sue
Facts: An Idaho couple, Jack and Maggie Turton, purchased a house in Jefferson County directly across from a gravel pit. Years later the county converted the pit into a landfill that collected environmentally harmful trash including: major appliances, animal carcasses, containers with hazardous content, leaking car batteries, and waste oil. The couple complained to the county but the county refused to act. In response, the Turtons filed a lawsuit against the county alleging that the landfill violated federal environmental laws consisting of groundwater contamination and other pollution.
Issue: The issue in this case is determining if the Turtons have standing to sue.
Law: Standing to Sue is a legal prerequisite before a lawsuit can be brought before a court, and it requires that a prospective plaintiff have “sufficient stake in a controversy before he or she can bring a lawsuit.” He or she must have suffered a real harm or have been threatened by harm as a result of the action in …show more content…
For instance, the state of Maryland would have personal jurisdiction over all Maryland residents. States also have the authority under the Long Arm Statute to exercise their jurisdiction over nonresident defendants from other states if the defendants have minimum contact with that specific state. Minimum contact refers to the amount of connection the defendant has with the state. Minimum contact was established in Shoe Co. v State of Washington and has been used to determine state jurisdiction in various other cases. The minimum contact requirements are usually met by advertising and/or selling products within the state. A corporation is subject to personal jurisdiction in a state if it is incorporated in that state, does business in the state, and/or has its principle office in the