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an external site.)
Personal Jurisdiction: In Which Court Can I Sue the Defendant? A person must sue in the jurisdiction
where the defendant resides or where a claim arose. A court must have power over the individual being
sued.
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to an external site.)
1. What is personal jurisdiction? Personal jurisdiction describes the power that a court has over a party
to make judgments concerning the party’s rights. Personal jurisdiction can be found where a party
resides, or an organization does business.
2. What is subject matter jurisdiction? Subject matter jurisdiction is the requirement for specific claims
to be heard in certain courts. It is possible to have subject matter jurisdiction overridden by subject
matter jurisdiction.
3. What is a long-arm statute? A long-arm statute allows a court to obtain jurisdiction personal
jurisdiction over an out-of-state defendant if there is a reasonable connection to the state.
4. What are the two types of federal subject matter jurisdiction? Explain how each type works. The two
kinds of federal subject matter jurisdiction are federal question jurisdiction and diversity jurisdiction. The
requirements for diversity jurisdiction are that the dispute must exceed $75,000 and plaintiffs must have
a different citizenship within states than the defendants. Federal subject matter jurisdiction is when the
court has the authority to judge particular claims such as: Tax Court, Court of International Trade,
Commission Review, and Appeals for the Armed Forces.
5. Why is it important that a non-resident party challenge personal jurisdiction immediately, before
appearing before the court without challenging personal jurisdiction? If the non-resident party does not
challenge personal jurisdiction before appearing before the court the right to challenge the personal
jurisdiction laten on can be waived.
6. What will happen if a lawsuit is filed in a court that does not have personal jurisdiction? If the court
does not have personal jurisdiction the judge can dismiss your case. The court would be unable to utilize
any defendants you may bring to your case.
Your answers should be complete sentences with correct grammar, punctuation, and spelling. You
should be able to answer each of these questions in one concise paragraph, though question four may
take more than one paragraph to answer completely.