Leveling The Playing Field-U.S. Court Jurisdiction Over Disputes Between American Professional Athletes And Foreign Sports Teams

This article, which explores federal court jurisdiction over foreign business entities in the context of an American professional baseball player’s lawsuit against a Japanese professional baseball team and its corporate owner, uses the decision of the District Court finding personal jurisdiction over the team, but not its owner, as a springboard for a broader discussion of the jurisdictional issue. It explores the various analyses that are employed by courts in the Third Circuit and other Circuits, focusing particularly on the interactive nature of websites as a basis for the exercise of personal jurisdiction.