If your clients, like most, are considering establishing sites on the World Wide Web, they should consider a number of things ahead of time, not the least of which is whether the site will expose them to the risk of being sued anywhere the user can tap into its Web site. No geographic boundaries prevent or limit access to a Web site once it is placed on the Internet. This total access enables the Web site owner to provide products and information about its products and services to customers across the country even across the world. That's the good news. The bad news is that the same unlimited access that enables your client to distribute information, goods and services anywhere, also can expose your client to being sued in any number of distant forums, outside the business' home state.
Internet technology is different from that of advertising media.
As a result, lawyers of business owners who are considering establishing sites should recommend to their clients measures that minimize the risk of being hauled into court in another state. To establish personal jurisdiction, a plaintiff must satisfy both constitutional due process requirements and any applicable state long-arm statutes. A finding of personal jurisdiction gives the court the power to issue a judgment against the defendant. Virtually all states have long-arm statutes that authorize the courts to exercise jurisdiction over a nonresident defendant. The reason for the lawsuit must arise from the defendant's activities in the state where the lawsuit was filed.