Personal Jurisdiction: In Which Court Can I Sue the Defendant?
Before you file a lawsuit, be sure the court has power over the individual or business that you want to sue.
Federal and state laws grant and limit courts' jurisdiction -- that is, the power to hear and decide a particular case. To make a legally valid decision, a court must have two types of jurisdiction: personal jurisdiction and subject matter jurisdiction. Personal jurisdiction rules determine whether a court has power over a particular defendant, whereas subject matter jurisdiction establishes the court's power to hear the kind of case a lawsuit involves. This article describes the ways that a court can have personal jurisdiction over a defendant:
Defendant Resides or Does Business in the State
Determining that a court has personal jurisdiction over a particular defendant is easy when you file the suit in the state in which the defendant resides or does business. The nearly universal rule is that the courts in a state have personal jurisdiction over all people or businesses that are citizens of or do business in that state.
For example, you sue an Illinois citizen in an Illinois state court for breach of contract. It doesn't matter where you live or where the events leading up to the lawsuit took place, because an Illinois state court has personal jurisdiction over all citizens of Illinois.
Other Ways to Get Personal Jurisdiction
Personal jurisdiction rules can be a bit stickier when you file the suit in a state other than the one in which the defendant is a citizen or does business. You can't just sue someone in your home state if the defendant doesn't live in your state, has never been in your state, and doesn't do business in your state.
Example: Debbie is a Texas citizen vacationing in Florida. While in Florida, Debbie buys what she is told are two brand new "fully loaded" computer systems at Kevin's Computer Shop. Debbie later learns that the computers are loaded with reused parts and won't perform the tasks that Kevin claimed. Debbie cannot sue Kevin in her home state of Texas. Texas has no personal jurisdiction over Kevin because Kevin is neither a citizen of nor does business in Texas.
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