​Generally, in civil cases, the person filing the court case (the plaintiff or petitioner) is giving the court jurisdiction over himself/herself by simply showing up. When you file a court case, you are asking for a remedy from the court, you are telling the court that there is a problem that you need the judge to resolve, and you are bound by whatever decision they make. This means that you agree that the court has the power or authority to make a decision that affects you (jurisdiction over you).

It is a bit more complicated when looking at the person who is sued (the petitioner or respondent). Our most important law (the US Constitution) seeks to ensure that defendant in a case has an opportunity to defend themselves if a lawsuit is filed against them.

To ensure that he/she can defend himself/herself, the plaintiff or the court system must notify the defendant of the lawsuit or complaint against him/her. Each state has its own laws in terms of what is necessary to legally notify someone of an action against them and whether that will be done by the plaintiff or the court. 

If the defendant resides in the state where the court case is filed, once the defendant has been legally served, the court obtains jurisdiction over you and can then begin the legal process. It is more complicated if the defendant lives in a different state than where the lawsuit was filed.

Note: In most states, if you start a court case against someone who lives out of state and that party appears in court (appears), he/she must raise a lack of jurisdiction over the person as a defense before or during the first court hearing. If all parties show up and no one tells the judge that the court does not have jurisdiction over the defendant person who lives in another state, then the judge will probably allow the defendant to continue the case.

For most court cases, most states have what is known as an "extraterritorial jurisdiction law." This is a law that explains when a court can have jurisdiction over people who do not reside in that state. Extraterritorial jurisdiction law sets forth certain conditions, or “minimum contacts,” that must be met in order for the court to obtain personal jurisdiction over the respondent. Although this can vary from state to state, in general, the most common ways to obtain jurisdiction over the person of the defendant are:

• the reason for the lawsuit occurred in the state where the case is being filed;
• the defendant was personally served with the court papers in that state; either
• the defendant has substantial connections to the state (often called “minimal contacts”).

note: There is one important exception to the information explained in this section. In cases involving the custody of minors, it does not necessarily matter if the other parent lives out of state. In general, the court considers where the minors live, and the state court generally has jurisdiction over the minors and their parents. There is a law called the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act (UCCJEA) that deals with this issue and it applies in all states (except Massachusetts, where a similar law applies, and Puerto Rico where no similar law has been adopted). The UCCJEA is a uniform law (rule), adopted by individual states, that helps establish the "residence state" that has jurisdiction over minors, and therefore, the parties.

For more information on filing for custody in your state, you can go to our page on custody for the state in which you will file your application.

After you file a lawsuit, you must serve the other party with a copy of the papers you filed and be notified of the next hearing date. This is also known as case notification. If you can have the defendant personally served with court papers in the state where the lawsuit was filed, this will generally give the court jurisdiction over the person to hear your court case. “Personal service” means that someone other than you and not a party to the court case delivers the notice and the petition/complaint or other necessary documents directly to the person you are trying to sue. 

For example, if you know that the other party is coming to your state to visit your family, attend a concert, or go to a business meeting, you can arrange to have the court papers personally served on him/her while he/she is in the state. In some states, the sheriff or other certified person known as a summons must serve. It is recommended that you speak with an attorney in her state de Ella to see if there are any special notice rules that might apply to her situation de Ella.