Personal Jurisdiction
A court's authority over the parties to a lawsuit. Without personal jurisdiction over a defendant, a court cannot enter a binding judgment. Two-step analysis: does the long-arm statute authorize jurisdiction, and does exercising jurisdiction comport with constitutional due process?
Personal jurisdiction is a court's authority over the parties to a lawsuit. Without personal jurisdiction over a defendant, a court cannot enter a binding judgment against that defendant. Personal jurisdiction analysis applies a two-step framework: (1) does a state's long-arm statute authorize jurisdiction, and (2) does exercising jurisdiction comport with constitutional due process under the Fourteenth Amendment?
Texas long-arm statute
Texas's long-arm statute extends jurisdiction over a non-resident who "does business" in Texas, with broad enumerated examples. The Texas Supreme Court has interpreted the statute to extend jurisdiction to the constitutional limits of due process, meaning the long-arm analysis collapses into the constitutional analysis.
Two forms of personal jurisdiction
General jurisdiction: the court has jurisdiction over the defendant for any claim, regardless of where the claim arose. Under Daimler and Goodyear, general jurisdiction over a corporation exists only where the corporation is "essentially at home", typically the state of incorporation and the state of principal place of business. General jurisdiction over Texas-incorporated corporations and corporations with their principal place of business in Texas is automatic.
Specific jurisdiction: the court has jurisdiction over claims arising from or related to the defendant's contacts with the forum state. Bristol-Myers Squibb (2017) clarified that specific jurisdiction requires a connection between the defendant's forum contacts and the specific claims at issue. Ford Motor (2021) softened that requirement somewhat, holding that specific jurisdiction may exist where the defendant has substantial forum activities related to the type of claim asserted, even without strict claim-by-claim nexus.
Minimum contacts test
Specific jurisdiction requires (1) purposeful availment by the defendant of the privilege of conducting activities in the forum; (2) a connection between the forum contacts and the litigation; (3) that exercising jurisdiction comports with traditional notions of fair play and substantial justice.
Consent and waiver
Personal jurisdiction is waivable. Defendants who fail to timely raise the defense (typically in their first responsive pleading) waive it. Forum selection clauses in commercial contracts effectively consent to personal jurisdiction in the chosen forum.
Personal jurisdiction is the most-litigated procedural issue in cross-state commercial disputes. Texas businesses sued out-of-state can frequently challenge jurisdiction successfully if their forum contacts are limited. Conversely, out-of-state defendants in Texas litigation should evaluate personal-jurisdiction defenses before filing any responsive pleading that could waive them.