The Northeast Philadelphia Transit Authority (NEPTA) is a regional public transportation authority with its principal place of business at 1234 Market Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. NEPTA operates bus, rapid transit, passenger light rail, electric trains and trolley services to nearly 4 million people in five counties in and around Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

NEPTA also provides commuter rail service to Delaware and New Jersey. NEPTA trains and buses do not serve New York State, but NEPTA sells transit tickets from a New Jersey Transit window at New York Penn Station in New York City, NY.

Haru Taneka is a 55-year-old New York City resident who does not speak English. On August 20, 2019, he boarded a NEPTA train in Philadelphia bound for Claymont, Delaware. Taneka claims that when he arrived at his destination, the train was tilted to one side, resulting in a dangerous gap between the train and the platform. While trying to exit the train through the gap to the platform, Taneka said he fell onto the platform and dislocated his right wrist. Taneka claims that, as a result of his injuries, he required two surgeries and had to quit his job as a sushi chef.

In February 2020, Taneka sued NEPTA in New York state court. Their lawsuit alleges that NEPTA was negligent in the operation of its commuter train from Philadelphia to Claymont, Delaware, resulting in wrist injuries, medical expenses, and loss of income. NEPTA moved to dismiss the lawsuit, arguing that the New York trial court where Taneka filed his lawsuit lacked personal jurisdiction over NEPTA, an out-of-state defendant.

Section 302 of the New York Consolidated Laws, Civil Practice Law and Rules (CPLR 302) is the  state's long-arm statute  , giving New York courts  personal jurisdiction over nonresidents  (called non-domiciliaries in the statute) for certain specific acts, specifically when a non-domiciled defendant

1. transacts business within the state or contracts anywhere to supply goods or services in the state; either

2. commits a tortious act within the state, except as to a cause of action for defamation of character arising from the act; either

3. commits an unlawful act outside the state that causes injury to a person or property within the state...if

(i) regularly does or solicits business, or engages in any other persistent course of conduct, or derives substantial income from goods used or consumed or services provided, in the state, or

(ii) expects or should reasonably expect that the act will have consequences in the state and derive substantial revenue from interstate or international commerce; …

You are the New York State trial court judge assigned to this case. How do you rule on NEPTA's motion to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction?

FIRAC paper addresses

Because this is your first FIRAC assignment, I will give you more guidance than you will receive later in the semester when you have more experience using the FIRAC model both to analyze legal issues and to structure your work.

While this document raises many potential legal issues, I want you to focus exclusively on whether a New York State court has  personal jurisdiction  over NEPTA, an out-of-state public transportation company. You will find all the legal rules you need to analyze the scenario in my lectures and other published course materials; You should NOT attempt to research this legal issue online.