JURISDICTION OVER FOREIGN CORPORATIONS

Authors

Maxwell E. Fead, University of Michigan Law School

Abstract

During the last century, the standing of foreign corporations in our law has been radically changed; and the law on this subject at the present day is far from being in a settled condition. According to the early view, a corporation could have no legal existence outside of the state of its creation. This view was perhaps best expressed by Mr. Chief Justice Taney in his famous dictum in Bank of Augusta v. Earle. "And this corporation can have no legal existence out of the bounds of the sovereignty by which it is created. It exists only in contemplation of law, and where that law ceases to operate the corporation can have no existence. It must dwell in the place of its creation." If one of its officers left that state, even upon corporate business, he was considered as having dropped his official capacity. Consequently, service upon him was held insufficient to secure personal jurisdiction over the corporation. As a result, foreign corporations were not amenable to personal service outside of the state of their incorporation.

Recommended Citation

Maxwell E. Fead, JURISDICTION OVER FOREIGN CORPORATIONS, 24 Mich. L. Rev. 633 (1926).
Available at: https://repository.law.umich.edu/mlr/vol24/iss7/2