Chicago personal injury lawyer, Articles

Personal Jurisdiction

When choosing in which court to sue a defendant, it is very important to check to make sure that a court actually has jurisdiction over the defendant. Without jurisdiction, it does not matter how good a case a person has against the defendant, it will be thrown out.

Personal jurisdiction refers to a court's power over a particular defendant or item of property. If a court lacks personal jurisdiction over a defendant or property, then the court is incapable of binding the defendant to an obligation or judge the rights over a piece of property.

Personal jurisdiction is different from subject-matter jurisdiction and territorial jurisdiction. Unlike subject-matter jurisdiction, personal jurisdiction can be waived, even unintentionally, by a defendant. Personal jurisdiction, territorial jurisdiction, subject-matter jurisdiction, and proper notice to the defendant are the most fundamental constitutional prerequisites for valid judgments.

The Supreme Court has held that the constitutional requirements of due process found in both the 14th amendment and the 5th amendment limit the exercise of personal jurisdiction over nonresidents of a specific state or area. The same outer constitutional boundaries for personal jurisdiction apply in both state courts and federal courts.

Due to Rule 4 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, a federal court typically applies the personal jurisdiction statutes (long-arm statutes) of the state in which it sits, even if the state has not extended personal jurisdiction to its constitutional limits. In some very rare cases, Rule 4 allows a federal court personal jurisdiction even if the law of the state in which it sits would not.

Contact a Chicago Personal Injury Lawyer

If you have been injured in some way, contact the Chicago personal injury lawyers of Friedman & Bonebrake at 312-466-8200 to protect your rights.