Also known as: personal jurisdictions · in personam jurisdiction
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A court's authority to render a binding judgment against a particular defendant. The authority rests on the defendant's presence or contacts within the forum, on consent, or on statutory grounds such as long-arm jurisdiction.
Pacific Bank sues Prism Analytics in federal court in California. Prism Analytics, incorporated in Delaware with its headquarters in Texas, moves under Rule 12(b)(2) before answering. The court must decide whether it has authority to bind Prism Analytics to a judgment.
Peak Performance, a Japanese parts maker, sells components to a Taiwanese assembler. The assembler incorporates them into products sold nationwide, including a few units that reach Oklahoma. When an Oklahoma plaintiff sues Peak Performance for injury, the court finds the mere placement into commerce insufficient to support jurisdiction.
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Patricia Patel, a resident of State X, sues Pinnacle Holdings in federal court. No district satisfies the residence or substantial-events rules. Because Pinnacle Holdings is subject to personal jurisdiction in the District of State Y, that district may hear the case under the fallback provision.
Penelope Price obtains a divorce decree in State A that lacked personal jurisdiction over her absent spouse Paul Peterson. She later seeks maintenance in State B. The court may award maintenance only after finding that Penelope lacks sufficient property and cannot support herself through employment.
Preston Pratt and Portia Price live in different states with their child. Preston files a custody petition in State C. The court may adjudicate custody even though neither parent nor the child is present in State C and the court lacks personal jurisdiction over Portia.
Parker Phillips resides in State D. His former spouse files a support petition directly in a tribunal of State E that has or can obtain personal jurisdiction over Parker. The tribunal in State E may hear the proceeding under the uniform act.
A defendant must raise lack of personal jurisdiction in the first responsive pleading or by pre-answer motion under Rule 12(b)(2). Failure to do so waives the defense.
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No. Mere placement into the stream of commerce, even with awareness that the product may reach the forum, is not alone a sufficient basis for personal jurisdiction.
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When no other district satisfies the residence or substantial-events rules, venue lies in any district where any defendant is subject to the court's personal jurisdiction.
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Yes, but only if the court finds that the spouse seeking maintenance lacks sufficient property and cannot support himself or herself through appropriate employment.
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No. Physical presence of a party or child is neither necessary nor sufficient to make a child-custody determination under the uniform act.
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A petitioner may file in an initiating tribunal for forwarding or directly in a tribunal of another state or foreign country that has or can obtain personal jurisdiction over the respondent.
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…of in personam actions. In International Shoe Co. v. Washington , 326 U. S. 310 (1945), we held that a state may exercise personal jurisdiction over a nonresident defendant only if the defendant has “minimum contacts” with the state “such that the maintenance of the suit does not offend ‘traditional notions of fair play and…