You can bring almost any lawsuit in state court. By contrast, you can sue in federal court only if your case involves a question of federal law or the Constitution, or if it involves diversity of citizenship. This means that you are suing someone from a different state or a foreign country, and you are seeking at least $75,000 in damages. (Sometimes a plaintiff will deliberately sue for less than $75,000 to avoid proceeding in federal court.) If there are several parties, diversity must be complete for diversity jurisdiction to apply. In other words, no plaintiff can be from the same state as any defendant. If you file in state court when your case qualifies for federal court, a defendant can get the case removed to federal court or sometimes get it dismissed without prejudice. This can cause problems if the statute of limitations is expiring soon.