Also known as: exclusive jurisdiction basis · exclusive jurisdiction
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A statutory or constitutional rule that designates the sole ground on which a court may exercise authority over a specified category of cases or disputes. The rule channels all proceedings of that type into the designated forum and precludes any other court from asserting power on alternative theories.
Eduardo Enriquez files a custody petition in State A after his child has lived in State B for eighteen months. State A has never been the child's home state and no other basis under subsection (a) exists. The court dismisses the petition because subsection (a) supplies the only permissible ground for a custody determination.
Edward Everett brings a damages action in state court alleging that city police violated his federal constitutional rights. The defendant removes the case to federal district court. The federal court retains the action because federal law supplies the exclusive basis for adjudicating the federal constitutional claim.
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Eclipse Manufacturing seeks to build a nuclear facility and obtains a state permit. The federal government sues in federal court claiming the state permit is preempted. The federal court hears the case because federal energy statutes create the exclusive basis for resolving preemption questions in this field.
Evelyn Ellison's husband dies when a vessel sinks on the high seas. She files a wrongful-death action in state court. The defendant removes to federal court. The federal court exercises authority because federal maritime law provides the exclusive basis for the claim.
Enigma Technologies sues in federal district court despite a contractual clause designating a different federal venue. The defendant moves to transfer. The court grants the motion because the federal venue statute supplies the exclusive basis for determining the proper forum.
Ezra Eastman obtains a state-court judgment against a nonresident and attempts to attach land located in another state. The second state court refuses to recognize the attachment. The refusal stands because the first state's jurisdictional statute is the exclusive basis for acquiring power over the nonresident.
It means the statute supplies the only permissible ground on which a court may act. Any attempt to invoke jurisdiction on a different theory is invalid.
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No. The statute expressly states that physical presence of the child or a party is neither necessary nor sufficient to confer jurisdiction.
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Yes. The UCCJEA permits jurisdiction when all other states with possible jurisdiction have declined on the ground that the forum state is the more appropriate forum.
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When federal law supplies the exclusive basis for the claim, the defendant may remove the action to federal court even if the complaint pleads only state-law theories.
…law" that regulate the relationships among independent nations. The first of those principles was "that every State possesses exclusive jurisdiction and sovereignty over persons and property within its territory." The second was "that no State can exercise direct jurisdiction and authority over persons or property without its…