In the last few years, thousands of businesses have taken the plunge into electronic commerce, and there has been a corresponding rise in the number of lawsuits involving online activities. One of the most important issues that arises from this is where a business can be sued as a result of its online activities. This issue is known in the legal field as personal jurisdiction.
Jurisdiction is important to both the plaintiff and the defendant.
Litigating at home is more convenient and less costly than traveling to another state, and hometown juries tend to be more sympathetic to local parties. Typically, these statutes allow jurisdiction over non-residents who, for example, transact business in the state, commit injurious acts in the state, or commit injurious acts outside the state that they reasonably should have expected to cause injury within the state. If the answer is yes to all three of these questions, a state generally may exercise jurisdiction over the defendant. Gary Smith is a partner in the Business Litigation and Intellectual Property Groups. He has experience in representing clients in all areas of litigation, including trademark and copyright actions.