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    masterson123's Avatar
    masterson123 Posts: 1, Reputation: 1
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    #1

    Dec 22, 2009, 12:21 PM
    Jurisdiction - Where to Sue
    I developed a web site for someone and they are now stiffing me on the final payment (they haven't returned my calls in a over month). The problem is that I live in Canada and she lives in North Carolina. I believe she used to live in California before she got married and just forgot to update her contract template to reflect her new locale.

    The contract specifies that "Each of the parties irrevocably consents to the exclusive personal jurisdiction of the federal and state courts located in California, as applicable, for any matter arising out of or relating to this Contractor Agreement, except that in actions seeking to enforce any order or any judgment of such federal or state courts located in California, such personal jurisdiction shall be nonexclusive."

    My question is two fold:
    1) Am I correct that I need to sue in California (This would be in small claims court, fyi)
    2) According to courtinfo.ca.gov, I need to serve them in the state of California, which is not possible since she isn't/won't be there. Can I not serve them in NC? If not, how can I serve them?

    Thanks,

    John
    this8384's Avatar
    this8384 Posts: 4,564, Reputation: 485
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    #2

    Dec 22, 2009, 03:00 PM
    Quote Originally Posted by masterson123 View Post
    I developed a web site for someone and they are now stiffing me on the final payment (they haven't returned my calls in a over month). The problem is that I live in Canada and she lives in North Carolina. I believe she used to live in California before she got married and just forgot to update her contract template to reflect her new locale.

    The contract specifies that "Each of the parties irrevocably consents to the exclusive personal jurisdiction of the federal and state courts located in California, as applicable, for any matter arising out of or relating to this Contractor Agreement, except that in actions seeking to enforce any order or any judgment of such federal or state courts located in California, such personal jurisdiction shall be nonexclusive."

    My question is two fold:
    1) Am I correct that I need to sue in California (This would be in small claims court, fyi)
    2) According to courtinfo.ca.gov, I need to serve them in the state of California, which is not possible since she isn't/won't be there. Can I not serve them in NC? If not, how can I serve them?

    Thanks,

    John
    You may want to check with a lawyer to make sure you're going about it 100% legally. But I would say you simply file in California and have her served in North Carolina. In your filing, don't forget to request reimbursement for your travel costs.

    Or, you could find a cheap attorney in California to file for you. Odds are this woman isn't going to be willing to travel from North Carolina to California for a small claims lawsuit.
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