Q: If defendant has 2 addresses in 2 states can you sue in both states and let the courts decide jurisdiction?
In an auto accident personal injury case, can the injured party sue the defendant in small claims court in the counties of 2 different states and attempt to have them served in both states counties if the defendant has addresses in both states and you are unsure which address they live at or is there primary address? Can you sue in both and let the court figure out which court has jurisdiction in case the defendant says they live at one address and not the other one? Is it legal to do that?
A:
There are two separate issues which you have combined in your question: Personal jurisdiction and service. Personal jurisdiction refers to a court's authority to adjudicate the rights and liability of the defendant. In an auto wreck case, a court has personal jurisdiction if the wreck happened in that court's state. So, for instance, if the wreck happened in Georgia, a Georgia court would have personal jurisdiction over the defendant.
Service relates to delivering the summons and the complaint to the defendant in order to initiate a civil action. The idea behind service of process is to give the defendant notice of any lawsuit against him/her. Service can be accomplished anywhere and still be valid. It does not matter where a person resides. During my years practicing law, defendants have been served at restaurants, while shopping in stores, or even while riding a bus.
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