In a reply brief filed in the Fifth Circuit, CCL argued that treating Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 4(k)(2) as just another form of general jurisdiction renders it facially unconstitutional, stating that no court should casually render such a constitutional determination. 

     In Douglass v. NYK Line, the Fifth Circuit will decide whether the "at home" standard used for general jurisdiction in state courts applies to personal jurisdiction in a federal cause of action filed in federal court. Rule 4(k)(2) was written to fill a gap in federal personal jurisdiction and, by its terms, permits federal courts to exercise personal jurisdiction over companies with substantial national contacts but insufficient presence to be subject to jurisdiction in a state court. As the CCL brief points out, if a company has a sufficient presence to be at home in the U.S., then it is at home in one of the states -- and Rule 4(k)(2) cannot apply. As a result, imposing an "at-home" requirement on top of Rule 4(k)(2) as a matter of Fifth Amendment due process renders the rule null and void.

      The Douglass case arises from a collision between the U.S.S. Fitzgerald, a U.S. Navy destroyer, and a much heavier container ship. The collision killed seven American sailors and injured 40 others. The case was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana, which dismissed the matter for lack of jurisdiction over the Defendant, a Japanese corporation.