A court also must have personal jurisdiction over the defendant in a case. There are different ways in which a court may have personal jurisdiction, including if a defendant resides or has a business within the court's geographical region. For example, a Florida plaintiff may not bring an action in Florida district court against a defendant who lives and works in another state, if that defendant has no contact with the state of Florida. Jurisdiction is set in law, constitutions, or case law. In some cases, courts have overlapping jurisdiction, giving a person a choice of court in which to file the action.
Exclusive jurisdiction means that only a particular court can decide a case.
An example of exclusive subject matter jurisdiction is bankruptcy. Only in a federal bankruptcy court can a person file a bankruptcy action. State courts have no jurisdiction in bankruptcy cases. General jurisdiction means that a court has the ability to hear and decide a wide range of cases. Unless a law or constitutional provision denies them jurisdiction, courts of general jurisdiction have authority to handle any kind of case.