Personal Jurisdiction in a Lawsuit Explained

When a person brings a lawsuit against another, he or she files the case in court. In order for the court to hear the case, the venue must be proper, the court must have subject matter jurisdiction, and the court must be able to exercise jurisdiction over the parties to the suit. To exercise jurisdiction over the parties, a court must have personal jurisdiction.

Personal jurisdiction for an individual is exercised really easily if the party in question is found within the state in which the court sits. If the person is in the state when he or she is served notice, then the court already has personal jurisdiction and doesn’t need to do anything else to exercise jurisdiction over that party.

If the party is not found in the state, he or she can challenge personal jurisdiction by claiming that he or she does not have minimum contacts with the state. The plaintiff must then show how the defendant has minimum contacts. To show that there are minimum contacts, the plaintiff must show that the defendant has significant contacts with the state that are either tied to the issue in question or significant enough to provide for general jurisdiction and that it would be fair to the defendant to force him or her to defend a suit in the state.

Contact an Indianapolis Personal Injury Lawyer

If you have been injured by someone’s intentional or negligent actions, contact the Indianapolis personal injury lawyers of Hankey Marks & Crider at (317) 634-8565 to discuss your situation and to determine your legal options.