Subject Matter Jurisdiction

In order for a court to hear a case, it must have both personal jurisdiction and subject matter jurisdiction. Personal jurisdiction means that the court has jurisdiction over the people involved. This means that the defendant will be held to the court’s decision. Subject matter concerns the type of lawsuit that is being brought.

The majority of states have divided their court systems up into a variety of topics. Family courts, criminal courts, civil courts, and a variety of other types of courts may exist in a state. Each of the types of courts is able to hear specific types of cases and generally no others. So for example, a criminal case will not be tried in a family court since the family court has not been given jurisdiction over criminal matters by the state.

For federal courts, there are a couple different ways to ensure jurisdiction. The first requires that the parties be citizens of different states. This means that a person from Pennsylvania can sue a person from Indiana in a federal court based on their diversity of citizenship. In order for this one to apply, the amount in controversy in the suit must be in excess of $75,000. So a case with $75,000 at issue will not meet the requirement but a case with $75,000.01 in question will.

The other way is through a case that raises a federal question. The federal question can be a case that is filed under a federal statute, calls the Constitution into issue, or a variety of other questions. Due to the large number of federal statutes, many cases fall under this area. There is no requirement for diversity of citizenship here.

Contact a Philadelphia Personal Injury Lawyer

If you have been injured by an intentionally harmful or negligent action, contact a Philadelphia personal injury lawyer from Lowenthal & Abrams, P.C. at 215-238-1130.