M.A.P. VS. E.B.A. (FD-09-0282-21, HUDSON COUNTY AND STATEWIDE) (RECORD IMPOUNDED) (A-1057-21)
In this appeal, the court considered whether two of the seven subsections of New Jersey's Uniform Interstate Family Support Act's long arm statute permitted exertion of personal jurisdiction over a nonresident alleged to have fathered a child through a sexual relationship with a New Jersey resident that occurred in New York. The court held that the out-of-state act that allegedly caused conception, even though coupled with the nonresident's knowledge that plaintiff was a New Jersey resident, could not be the nonresident's "act" under N.J.S.A. 2A:4-30.129(a)(5), which authorizes personal jurisdiction when "the child resides in this State as a result of the [nonresident's] acts or directives." The court also found unavailing N.J.S.A. 2A:4-30.129(a)(7), which allows for the exertion of personal jurisdiction whenever commensurate with due process, because the nonresident defendant lacked sufficient contacts with this State. As a matter of first impression, the court also held that the policies underlying N.J.R.E. 408 precluded consideration in the jurisdictional analysis of a letter sent to plaintiff by defendant's New Jersey lawyer proposing an amicable resolution.
