Can Someone Sue You from Another State?
There are several circumstances under which someone can sue you from another state.
Property damage, vehicle accidents, and real estate disputes are just three examples of these circumstances.
Can Someone Sue You from Another State?
Courts in the U.S. have two kinds of jurisdiction, one over the subject matter and one over persons. Personal jurisdiction refers to whether or not the state court has a vested interest in you and a right to make binding decisions over you.
If you caused injury to someone in another state or damaged property or caused some other loss for a person or company in that state, then the offended party may be able to bring a lawsuit against you.
Let’s take a closer look at Personal Jurisdiction.
In this article, we’ll take a closer look at the question – can someone sue you from another state?
Personal Jurisdiction
There are some conditions involved in determining a court’s authority over you. And there are four types of personal jurisdiction you should know about.
- Presence
If you pass through another state, however briefly, and you are served with a complaint and summons, this is sufficient for that state (called the forum state) to have jurisdiction over you. Your presence is an opportunity for you to be served. The practice is sometimes called “gotcha” or “grasping.”
- Domicile or place of business
You can always be sued in the state where you have an established residence or place of business. This gives the state jurisdiction over you.
- Consent
By simply driving on the roads of another state, for example, you give implied consent to the laws regulating the roads and therefore to the state that makes the laws. Should you have an accident on those roads, the state would have jurisdiction over you. Implied consent is a typical form of personal jurisdiction.
Another form of personal jurisdiction via consent is called express consent. You may voluntarily show up in court and give the court jurisdiction over you. So, even if the court would normally have no jurisdiction over you, by volunteering to appear there, you essentially waive that privilege and give the court the jurisdiction in the current case.
Minimum Contacts
A state can have personal jurisdiction over you if you maintain minimum contacts with that state, or in other words, enough interaction with the state to justify the personal jurisdiction.
Usually, any substantial presence in the state will justify the principle of personal jurisdiction — for example, if a business regularly solicits business in the state, derives significant revenue from sales, or engages in some other consistent course of conduct there.
The principle of minimum contacts is often difficult to establish. It took the Supreme Court to set forth a basic test to determine whether or not there are minimum contacts with a state.
- Continuous, systematic contacts and related lawsuits:If the defendant’s activity in the state is continuous and systematic, and the cause of the current action is related to that activity, then the state has jurisdiction.
- Sporadic or casual activity and unrelated lawsuits: If the defendant’s activity is only sporadic or casual, and the cause of the current action is unrelated to that activity, then the state does not have personal jurisdiction.
- Sporadic or casual activity and related lawsuits: Even in the case where a
defendant has sporadic activity, or a single activity, in a state and the cause of the action is related to that activity, the state would have jurisdiction.
The principle of minimum contacts also applies to a shopper or user of the Internet, as well as a website owner, just as it does to businesses. But recent court rulings have determined that, if your only contact with an out-of-state online catalog company is an occasional purchase, then that by itself is insufficient for the catalog company to bring you to its state’s court.
To protect yourself in e-commerce situations, use credit cards for purchases whenever possible. Credit card companies have a dispute resolution procedure that bypasses litigation for many purchases.
If you enter into significant contracts with out-of-state companies, be aware that there may be provisions in a contract that requires you to waive personal jurisdiction in your state or requires that you submit yourself to jurisdiction in a distant state. Do not accept these provisions.
Jurisdiction Over Property –“in rem jurisdiction”
There is another form of jurisdiction, called in rem jurisdiction, which gives a court jurisdiction over things as opposed to people. This usually involves property and gives the court jurisdiction over the property you own, even if it doesn’t have jurisdiction over you, personally.
This form of jurisdiction is very limited. A lawsuit has to concern the property itself, and the court has jurisdiction to hear a dispute involving the property only but not necessarily any other dispute involving you, personally.
What You Can Do
If you are confronted with a lawsuit that was filed in another state, what should you do?
First, regardless of what state or court is filing the lawsuit, seek legal counsel. There are many different situations as noted above, and you may or may not be required to respond, depending on the jurisdiction of the state involved. And you may or may not be required to have an attorney, but you should still seek the advice of one who is certified in the area of law for your situation.
You should always answer the complaint. Don’t ignore it just because it is from another state. You can answer a complaint without submitting to the state’s jurisdiction but you should work with an attorney on this to protect yourself.
You should make whatever counterclaims are appropriate and present any available defenses to the complaint. Failing to do so early in the case may make it difficult or impossible to do it later. And failing to respond to the complaint, in general, can lead to a judgment against you.
Conclusion
So, can someone sue you from another state?
It depends on the legal matter at hand. If you would like to speak with an attorney about the matter, contact the SFVBA Attorney Referral Service to connect with a lawyer in Los Angeles.
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