North Carolina General Statutes 1-75.4. Personal jurisdiction, grounds for generally
A court of this State having jurisdiction of the subject matter has jurisdiction over a person served in an action pursuant to Rule 4(j), Rule 4(j1), or Rule 4(j3) of the Rules of Civil Procedure under any of the following circumstances:
(1) Local Presence or Status. – In any action, whether the claim arises within or without this State, in which a claim is asserted against a party who when service of process is made upon such party:
a. Is a natural person present within this State; or
b. Is a natural person domiciled within this State; or
c. Is a domestic corporation; or
d. Is engaged in substantial activity within this State, whether such activity is wholly interstate, intrastate, or otherwise.
Terms Used In North Carolina General Statutes 1-75.4
- Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
- Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
- Deed: The legal instrument used to transfer title in real property from one person to another.
- Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
- following: when used by way of reference to any section of a statute, shall be construed to mean the section next preceding or next following that in which such reference is made; unless when some other section is expressly designated in such reference. See North Carolina General Statutes 12-3
- Foreclosure: A legal process in which property that is collateral or security for a loan may be sold to help repay the loan when the loan is in default. Source: OCC
- Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
- Mortgage: The written agreement pledging property to a creditor as collateral for a loan.
- Obligation: An order placed, contract awarded, service received, or similar transaction during a given period that will require payments during the same or a future period.
- Personal property: All property that is not real property.
- personal property: shall include moneys, goods, chattels, choses in action and evidences of debt, including all things capable of ownership, not descendable to heirs at law. See North Carolina General Statutes 12-3
- Plaintiff: The person who files the complaint in a civil lawsuit.
- property: shall include all property, both real and personal. See North Carolina General Statutes 12-3
- Real property: Land, and all immovable fixtures erected on, growing on, or affixed to the land.
- Service of process: The service of writs or summonses to the appropriate party.
- state: when applied to the different parts of the United States, shall be construed to extend to and include the District of Columbia and the several territories, so called; and the words "United States" shall be construed to include the said district and territories and all dependencies. See North Carolina General Statutes 12-3
(2) Special Jurisdiction Statutes. – In any action which may be brought under statutes of this State that specifically confer grounds for personal jurisdiction.
(3) Local Act or Omission. – In any action claiming injury to person or property or for wrongful death within or without this State arising out of an act or omission within this State by the defendant.
(4) Local Injury; Foreign Act. – In any action for wrongful death occurring within this State or in any action claiming injury to person or property within this State arising out of an act or omission outside this State by the defendant, provided in addition that at or about the time of the injury either:
a. Solicitation or services activities were carried on within this State by or on behalf of the defendant;
b. Products, materials or thing processed, serviced or manufactured by the defendant were used or consumed, within this State in the ordinary course of trade; or
c. Unsolicited bulk commercial electronic mail was sent into or within this State by the defendant using a computer, computer network, or the computer services of an electronic mail service provider in contravention of the authority granted by or in violation of the policies set by the electronic mail service provider. Transmission of commercial electronic mail from an organization to its members shall not be deemed to be unsolicited bulk commercial electronic mail.
(5) Local Services, Goods or Contracts. – In any action which:
a. Arises out of a promise, made anywhere to the plaintiff or to some third party for the plaintiff’s benefit, by the defendant to perform services within this State or to pay for services to be performed in this State by the plaintiff; or
b. Arises out of services actually performed for the plaintiff by the defendant within this State, or services actually performed for the defendant by the plaintiff within this State if such performance within this State was authorized or ratified by the defendant; or
c. Arises out of a promise, made anywhere to the plaintiff or to some third party for the plaintiff’s benefit, by the defendant to deliver or receive within this State, or to ship from this State goods, documents of title, or other things of value; or
d. Relates to goods, documents of title, or other things of value shipped from this State by the plaintiff to the defendant on his order or direction; or
e. Relates to goods, documents of title, or other things of value actually received by the plaintiff in this State from the defendant through a carrier without regard to where delivery to the carrier occurred.
(6) Local Property. – In any action which arises out of:
a. A promise, made anywhere to the plaintiff or to some third party for the plaintiff’s benefit, by the defendant to create in either party an interest in, or protect, acquire, dispose of, use, rent, own, control or possess by either party real property situated in this State; or
b. A claim to recover for any benefit derived by the defendant through the use, ownership, control or possession by the defendant of tangible property situated within this State either at the time of the first use, ownership, control or possession or at the time the action is commenced; or
c. A claim that the defendant return, restore, or account to the plaintiff for any asset or thing of value which was within this State at the time the defendant acquired possession or control over it; or
d. A claim related to a loan made in this State or deemed to have been made in this State under N.C. Gen. Stat. § 24-2.1, regardless of the situs of the lender, assignee, or other holder of the loan note and regardless of whether the loan payment or fee is received through a loan servicer, provided that: (i) the loan was made to a borrower who is a resident of this State, (ii) the loan is incurred by the borrower primarily for personal, family, or household purposes, and (iii) the loan is secured by a mortgage or deed of trust on real property situated in this State upon which there is located or there is to be located a structure or structures designed principally for occupancy of from one to four families.
(7) Deficiency Judgment on Local Foreclosure or Resale. – In any action to recover a deficiency judgment upon an obligation secured by a mortgage, deed of trust, conditional sale, or other security instrument executed by the defendant or his predecessor to whose obligation the defendant has succeeded and the deficiency is claimed either:
a. In an action in this State to foreclose such security instrument upon real property, tangible personal property, or an intangible represented by an indispensable instrument, situated in this State; or
b. Following sale of real or tangible personal property or an intangible represented by an indispensable instrument in this State under a power of sale contained in any security instrument.
(8) Director or Officer of a Domestic Corporation. – In any action against a defendant who is or was an officer or director of a domestic corporation where the action arises out of the defendant’s conduct as such officer or director or out of the activities of such corporation while the defendant held office as a director or officer.
(9) Taxes or Assessments. – In any action for the collection of taxes or assessments levied, assessed or otherwise imposed by a taxing authority of this State after the date of ratification of this act.
(10) Insurance or Insurers. – In any action which arises out of a contract of insurance as defined in N.C. Gen. Stat. § 58-1-10 made anywhere between the plaintiff or some third party and the defendant and in addition either:
a. The plaintiff was a resident of this State when the event occurred out of which the claim arose; or
b. The event out of which the claim arose occurred within this State, regardless of where the plaintiff resided.
(11) Personal Representative. – In any action against a personal representative to enforce a claim against the deceased person represented, whether or not the action was commenced during the lifetime of the deceased, where one or more of the grounds stated in subdivisions (2) to (10) of this section would have furnished a basis for jurisdiction over the deceased had he been living.
(12) Marital Relationship. – In any action under Chapter 50 that arises out of the marital relationship within this State, notwithstanding subsequent departure from the State, if the other party to the marital relationship continues to reside in this State. (1967, c. 954, ss. 2, 10; 1969, c. 803; 1981, c. 815, s. 4; 1983, c. 231; 1995, c. 389, s. 1; 1999-212, s. 1; 2007-351, s. 2; 2008-187, s. 1.)