1. A Florida court has personal jurisdiction over a defendant who is a Florida resident.
2. For nonresident defendants, a Florida court has personal jurisdiction if the defendant is served with process while present within the state, if the defendant waives its challenge to personal jurisdiction, or if the defendant consents to a Florida court’s jurisdiction.
3. Plaintiffs can establish personal jurisdiction over nonresident defendants through Florida’s long-arm statute, which requires meeting the constitutional requirement of due process. – Nonresident defendants can be subject to personal jurisdiction under Florida’s long-arm statute in two ways.
– Specific activities that subject a defendant to specific personal jurisdiction include engaging in business, committing a tort, owning real estate, contracting for insurance, causing injury through solicitation of sales or services of products, breaching a contract, and conceiving a child (only for paternity proceedings).
– If a defendant engages in “substantial and not isolated” activities within Florida, they are subject to general personal jurisdiction, meaning they can be sued within Florida for any claim, even one entirely unrelated to its Florida activities. 1. Florida’s long-arm statute allows the court to exercise personal jurisdiction over nonresident defendants.
2. For general jurisdiction, if a defendant meets the “continuous and systematic” standard, the court also has the constitutional power to assert personal jurisdiction.
3. For specific jurisdiction, due process is satisfied if there are sufficient “minimum contacts” between the defendant and Florida, such that maintaining the suit in Florida does not offend fair play and substantial justice.
4. Florida courts consider the foreseeability of the defendant’s conduct resulting in a suit in Florida and the defendant’s purposeful availment of Florida’s privileges and protections.
5. Quality and nature of the nonresident defendant’s activities are examined to determine if there are sufficient minimum contacts with the state.
6. A nonresident defendant does not have to physically be present in Florida to be subject to the court’s jurisdiction. Minimum contacts can include telephonic, electronic, or written communications to Florida from an outside state, as long as the cause of action arises from those specific communications. – The complaint only needs to show the ultimate facts of jurisdiction, not the evidentiary facts.
– If the defendant contests jurisdiction with an affidavit, the burden shifts to the plaintiff to provide supporting facts.
– If the issue cannot be resolved with affidavits, the judge must hold an evidentiary hearing.
– The defendant can waive the right to assert lack of personal jurisdiction by filing a pleading or motion without making the defense.
https://www.jimersonfirm.com/blog/2017/12/personal-jurisdiction-florida/
Leave a Reply