Also known as:personal jurisdiction requirements · personal jurisdiction · in personam jurisdiction
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A constitutional and procedural limit requiring that a court possess authority over the parties before it, founded on the defendant's contacts with the forum or traditional bases such as presence, consent, or domicile.
Sources & Authorities
How it applies
Common Examples
6
Motion to Dismiss Under Rule 12(b)(2)
Prime Logistics, based entirely in State X, is sued in State Y federal court by a plaintiff who claims breach of a contract negotiated and performed only in State X. Prime Logistics files a pre-answer motion asserting that the court lacks authority over it because it maintains no offices, employees, or purposeful activities in State Y. The court grants the motion and dismisses the case.
Stream of Commerce Claim Rejected
Premier Manufacturing, a foreign company, sells components to a distributor that resells them nationwide. One component reaches State Z and injures a resident there. Premier Manufacturing moves to dismiss the State Z suit, arguing that merely placing goods into commerce with awareness they might reach the forum does not create the required authority over it. The court dismisses the action.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Cases
Statutes
Federal Rules
Uniform Acts
Model Codes
Restatements
Study Supplements
Venue Falls Back on Personal Jurisdiction
Paragon Construction, headquartered in State A, is sued by a plaintiff who cannot identify any district satisfying the ordinary venue rules. The plaintiff files in a district in State B where Paragon Construction has sufficient contacts to support authority over it. The court accepts venue on that basis and proceeds with the case.
Maintenance After Foreign Divorce
Phuong Pham obtains a divorce decree in a foreign country that never acquired authority over her spouse, Perry Pratt. She later petitions a court in her home state for maintenance. The court grants the request after finding that she lacks sufficient property and cannot support herself through employment.
Child Custody Determination Without Party Presence
Piper Patel seeks a custody order in State C concerning a child who has never lived there. Neither parent resides in State C and no party appears. The court issues the order after determining that no other state has jurisdiction under the statutory criteria.
Interstate Support Petition Filed Directly
Paige Porter, living in State D, files a support petition directly in State E where the respondent resides and can be reached by that state's authority. The State E tribunal accepts the filing and proceeds to enforce the support obligation.
Common questions
Frequently Asked
4
How must a defendant raise lack of personal jurisdiction to avoid waiver?+
A defendant must assert the defense in the first Rule 12 motion or, if no motion is made, in the first responsive pleading. Filing an answer that omits the objection waives it.
Supporting sources
Does mere placement of a product into the stream of commerce establish the required authority over a foreign defendant?+
No. Awareness that a product may reach the forum is insufficient by itself. Purposeful availment of the forum's market or protections is required.
Supporting sources
When may a court use personal jurisdiction as a fallback for venue?+
When no other district satisfies the venue statute, a plaintiff may sue in any district where a defendant is subject to the court's authority over that defendant.
Supporting sources
Can physical presence of a child or party create authority for a child-custody order?+
No. Physical presence or personal jurisdiction over a party or child is neither necessary nor sufficient to support a child-custody determination.
Supporting sources
433 U.S. 186 (1977)Conflict of Laws
…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…