filing a claim against someone in another state

[Brian27]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Georgia
is there any way i can file i claim against a person who lives in texas if i'm in georgia. i am asking this because the person basically stole several hundred dollars in jewelry when they failed to meet their end of the agreement. all contacts with said person were documented and the agreement was made through a website known as etsy. the person was to take our gold and jewels and cast a pair of rings out of them, keeping the excess gold as payment. after receiving the product we noticed the products had some defects and the person requested that we send them back for repairs, and that was the last we heard from them. we already filed a a mail fraud claim against the person but i am wanting to either get our property back or reimbursed for the gold and jewels, will i have to file in texas if i want results or can i do this through my courts here in georgia?

 

[latigo]

(For the purposes here I am assuming that this person has no property within the state of Georgia.)

That understood, it is not just question of your just filing a lawsuit in Georgia naming the Texan as defendant. Anyone with the filing fee and proper paper work could do that.

What matters is whether a Georgia court could assume personal jurisdiction over your defendant and thus issue a judgment in your favor that would be entitled to “full faith and credit”.

In other words, a judgement that could be domesticated/filed in Texas or any sister state where you could find assets belonging to the defendant upon which you could levy execution to satisfy your judgment.

So, how could your state court obtain personal jurisdiction? Answer, three ways.

1. The defendant is personally served with process in Georgia.

2. The defendant makes a general appearance in the case. That is, files a written response in defense of your claim. (Very unlikely)

3. And more complex - the circumstances giving rise to your claim constitute the defendant transacting business in George as provided in subsection (a) of Georgia’s Long Arm Statute (Ga. Code 9-10-91) And as interpreted by the Georgia courts.

The bad news is that the Georgia courts have not been particularly liberal in defining what constitutes “transacting business in the state” such as to permit them to assume personal jurisdiction of a non-resident. And a definition that I fear would no apply to your limited dealings with the Texan.

But this is just my take on it. You need to consult with an attorney in the state.

And of course you realize, I hope, that even should you get the judgment it is a bloody nuisance to have one domesticated in another estate and the chances of every collecting are never promising.

 

[Rexlan]

And you will need to spend several thousand dollars to accomplish the task.