Legal Question in Business Law in California

Re: Breach of Contract - Legal Juristiction - Internet Law

Subject-matter urisdiction in a particular state other than the defendant's "home" state (with a corporation, that's where they are incorporated and where their main offices are, can be two different states) depends upon the defendant having sufficient contacts with the proposed forum state so that bringing them before that court comports with "due process and substantial justice." Generally, a company can be sued in any state where they have an office, conduct significant operations, focus their marketing efforts, and so forth. So-called minimal contacts will not suffice. It is also possible to obtain "special jurisdiction" for a particular matter by express or implied agreement of the parties, or when a particular contract was to be performed in the proposed forum state.

In additioin to subject-matter jurisdiction, the plaintiff must also establish the court's personal jurisdiction over a defendant by serving the defendant with process, i.e. proper delivery of the summons and complaint.

My guess is that you can't sue the AZ party in CA because it sounds like a small local outfit and the contract would have been "performed" in AZ by their shipping the materials; but if the AZ company also has outlets or sales staff in CA the answer would be otherwise.

Internet laws of contract are almost always the same as the traditional laws, and where necessary are applied by analogy to use of the regular mails to transmit offers, acceptances, notices, claims, etc. There are a few new statutes relating to electronic commerce. Most of these are designed to make it easier to do business over the Net, e.g. authorizing electronic signatures. Some are designed mainly to suppress or punish fraud.

Fraud, with exceptions not relevant here, requires an intent to defraud. Accidental misspelling of a name is not fraud. I can't say there is no fraud here, butit would take more than a spelling mistake to set it up.