QUESTION
Would a New York court have jurisdiction over a North Carolina breach of contract case?
Asked on Aug 03rd, 2014 on Breach of Contract - New York
More details to this question:
I own a condominium in North Carolina but live in New York City. I entered into an agreement with the owner of the neighboring unit pursuant to which he agreed to let my plumber install a pipe through a space in his unit as an upgrade to my plumbing. I have told him that the agreement was under New York law, and I have paid him part of the consideration. He now refuses to allow the plumber to have access, and so the plumbing in my unit is outdated and will not allow certain equipment to be installed. As a result, I have suffered over $5,000 in damages from lost rents and a lower property value. Would a New York court have jurisdiction? Thank you.
1 ANSWER
The question is not whether a New York court would have jurisdiction over the case (subject matter jurisdiction) but whether it would have jurisdiction over your NC neighbor (personal jurisdiction.) This turns on whether your NC neighbor has sufficient "minimum contacts" so that NY could exercise jurisdiction over him without violating the US Constitution. It takes less contacts to establish personal jurisdiction where the contacts are related to the suit, but here your neighbor appears to have negotiated and entered into the contract from NC and was to perform it in NC. Does your NC neighbor own or lease any real property in NY? Does he conduct business in NY? Does he reside in NY part of the time? Absent some contact llike the ones I listed above, I don't think that a New York court could exercise jurisdiction over him.
Answered on Aug 04th, 2014 at 9:42 AM