Q: I would like to challenge the jurisdiction of a MD District court. I do/did not live in MD at the time of service.
Does payment to a credit card made from an address in the MD district in 2010 qualify as minimum contact? I currently live in FL and I lived in PA when the suit was filed in 2013. The only thing tying me to MD at all is this one payment.
A: No, unless the suit involves the transaction itself in Maryland, such as you entered into a contract to purchase a product or service in Maryland and paid the initial payment toward the contract there before leaving. Mailing a check to a credit card company from Maryland or paying toward the credit card balance at a balance branch while passing through, would not qualify for long-arm statute jurisdiction. Personal jurisdiction can be either transactional (where the subject matter of the case arose, like place of contract, place of injury, etc.), or based on persistent intentional contacts with the state. For consumer debts, like credit card debt, you may only be sued in the jurisdiction where you reside.
Leonard A Englander agrees with this answer
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