Deciding Where to Initiate Litigation

Depending on the circumstances of a case, a litigant may have multiple states where they can file a lawsuit.  For instance, if a car crash occurred in one state, and a defendant resides in another state, a litigant can generally file a lawsuit against the defendant in either state.  Deciding where to initiate litigation is a complex process, and it involves weighing all of the benefits and disadvantages of suing in a given forum.  Nevertheless, there are a few critical factors that will have a substantial impact on where a litigant should file a lawsuit.

Personal Jurisdiction

The power of a court to hear cases about a party, also called personal jurisdiction, is one of the most important factors in deciding where to initiate litigation.  If a court cannot hear cases involving a defendant, a litigant cannot choose to file a case before a given court.  Personal jurisdiction is a complicated issue, and it is best to speak with an experienced lawyer to determine if a given forum has personal jurisdiction to hear a case.  However, there are certain situations in which courts generally have personal jurisdiction over a party.

If an individual resides within a state, or a company is incorporated or headquartered in the state, that state will usually have jurisdiction to hear any type of case involving those parties.  Moreover, if a party is served with process within a state, the state in which the defendant was served with process will generally have jurisdiction over the defendants.  Other situations are a little more complex, but if a transaction or occurrence occurred within a state, all of the parties that were subject to that transaction or occurrence can usually be litigated against in courts of the state in which the transaction occurred.  Since parties reside in states different from where transactions or occurrences happened, or transactions and occurrences might occur in multiple states, it is possible for multiple states to have jurisdiction over the parties.

Choice of Law

Another important factor in deciding where to initiate litigation is the law that will be applied to a given case.  Different states have different laws, and some states’ laws are more favorable to plaintiffs than other states.  Sometimes, plaintiffs can pick a venue that will have more favorable laws to them.

Choice of law is a complex legal field, but there are a few principles that courts generally apply when deciding which state’s law applies to a given situation.  Traditionally, the place where a transaction or occurrence happened will determine which law is applicable to a given incident.  However, courts more recently apply a more flexible approach when determining which state’s law applies to a given situation.  Oftentimes, courts will determine which state has a bigger interest in a given dispute and apply that state’s law to the litigation.  Courts oftentimes looks to which state has the most interest in regulating the conduct involved in the incident.  Since choice of law is a complex legal issue, litigants should speak to experienced attorneys to determine which state’s law applies to a given situation.

Ease of Litigants

The convenience of litigants will also have a substantial impact on deciding where to initiate litigation.  During the course of a lawsuit, litigants may need to appear in the states in which a lawsuit is filed to attend court hearings, depositions and other proceedings related to a case.  Moreover, litigants may need to request documents from parties in certain states who may have materials related to a lawsuit.  It may be easier for the party filing a lawsuit to complete the steps needed to prosecute a lawsuit in one state over another.  Moreover, some forums may be less convenient for certain defendants because of the distant to the forum, lack of familiarity with local procedures, and other issues.  This can also be strategically advantageous, and an experienced litigator should be able to assess whether it is convenient or inconvenient to litigate a case in a given forum.

Jury Pools

The potential jury pool for a given case will also have an impact on deciding where to initiate litigation.  Different states have different jury pools because of demographic and economic factors.  Some types of jurors may be more sympathetic to a given case, and plaintiffs should try to litigate cases in such venues.  Moreover, some juries usually awarded ore damages in certain types of cases, and this can impact settlement values and other considerations about a given matter.  In addition, jury pools might favor someone who is a resident of the forum state or is well-known in the forum state and this might also influence the decision of where to file a lawsuit.  On the other hand, some jury pools might not like individuals like the plaintiff and this should also be considered when deciding where to initiate litigation.  An experienced litigator should be familiar with jury pools and make an informed decision of whether the jury pool of a given state should impact deciding where to initiate litigation.

The Rothman Law Firm has substantial experience litigating all types of lawsuits in both state and federal courts.  If you are looking for an experienced New York and New Jersey litigation lawsuit to handle your lawsuit or other legal issue, please feel free to contact The Rothman Law Firm to request a free consultation.