Personal Jurisdiction
From Wikilawschool
Personal jurisdiction refers to a court's power over a particular defendant (in personam jurisdiction) or an item of property (in rem jurisdiction). If a court does not have personal jurisdiction over a defendant or property, then the court cannot bind the defendant to an obligation or adjudicate any rights over the property. In the American legal system personal jurisdiction is to be distinguished from subject-matter jurisdiction, which is the power of a court to render a judgment concerning a certain subject matter, or territorial jurisdiction, which is the power of a court to render a judgment concerning events that occurred within a territory. Unlike subject-matter jurisdiction, personal jurisdiction may be waived, even unintentionally, by a defendant. Personal jurisdiction, territorial jurisdiction, subject-matter jurisdiction, and proper notice to the defendant are the most fundamental constitutional prerequisites for a valid judgment. Read more at Wikipedia
If the court is being asked to determine any defendant's rights or obligations, it must have the power to make orders concerning the individual defendant. This is called personal jurisdiction. Personal jurisdiction is also called "in personam jurisdiction."
For a court to have personal jurisdiction over a defendant, the defendant must have been personally served (or have accepted service of the court papers) and the defendant must have at least some contacts with the state in which the court is located. No set number qualifies as the minimum; each situation must be analyzed case by case. If the defendant lives out of state, the court must look at the defendant's contacts with the state. Going into a state regularly to conduct business is usually sufficient for the court to obtain jurisdiction; sending child support payments to a state, without actually visiting the state, however, is not.
Example: Denise and Walter spent their entire married life in Colorado. Denise moved to New Mexico, established residency and sued for divorce...Read more at Lect Law
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:... Read more at Nolo
The power of a court to hear and determine a lawsuit involving a defendant by virtue of the defendant's having some contact with the place where the court is located.
Personal jurisdiction, also known as in personam (against the person) jurisdiction, gives a court the authority to make decisions binding on the persons involved in a civil case. Every state has personal jurisdiction over persons within its territory. Conversely, no state can exercise personal jurisdiction and authority over persons outside its territory unless the persons have manifested some contact with the state.
The authority of the court to issue orders to persons present within the territory comes from the sovereign power of the government. The court's authority allows it to reach all residents of a state, including those who are outside the state for a short period and out-of-state residents who enter the state even briefly.
Deciding whether an individual is within the personal jurisdiction of a court has not been difficult to determine. Difficulty has arisen when courts have had to decide whether corporations were subject to personal jurisdiction. Corporations have a legal existence and a legal identity but... Read more at Jrank
Personal jurisdiction, or in personam jurisdiction, refers to the power of a court to enter a binding judgment against a person or other legal entity. A court must be able to exercise personal jurisdiction over a party in order for that party to be bound by an order of the court.
The Fourteenth Amendment grants the right to not be compelled to defend a lawsuit in a remote jurisdiction unless a party’s actions have made it fair to hale that party into court. A court’s exercise of jurisdiction over a party must “not offend traditional notions of fair play and substantial justice.” The court asks whether a party reasonably should have anticipated that his actions might result in the forum state exercising personal jurisdiction over him in order to adjudicate disputes arising from those actions. In addition, due process requires that process be served upon a party before that party can be subject to personal jurisdiction.
The court may consider a number of factors in such a determination. Purposeful acts of the defendant need not take place within the forum state, provided that those acts create a substantial relationship with the forum state. In order for personal jurisdiction to be valid, however, the state must have a suitable long arm statute and the party must be given notice... Read more at Lawnix
