With the proviso that this information like all comments on this site is general information and cannot be tailored to your case without knowledge of the specific doc., facts and state law involved, etc:

Generally: "go to" does not mean personal travel except certain circumstances. The process works roughly as follows:

1. Well, you have to serve (process server) them in the foreign state. that is not difficult. Firms deal with that.

2. They will have to hire local counsel to appear or have foreign state counsel appear "pro hac vice" (i.e. through auspices of local firm) in the courts of your state. So, though filing the Answer can be done by mail or electronically or local service an attorney with the home state law license must be involved. This means having to find that attorney (now much easier thanks to lawyers.com), which you may not know or know anyone who knows whether they are good in this type of case. And because the client is out of state the law firm will typically want a larger advance fee to take the case.

3. The client does not have to appear personally until there is a trial or evidentiary proceeding where required to testify under oath.

4.For depositions - where your attorney takes their testimony under oath in front of a court reporter to learn the sworn facts of the case - you would have to travel there. For their deposition of you, they would have to travel :here," i.e. where you are.

As you can tell the "travel" aspects of foreign state litigation are not as negative as they may first appear because telephone calls, internet mail and document sending are now low cost and the out-of-state client may not have to appear in the state until much later on (assuming not injunctive action) -and you may have to travel as well.

Still, working with new counsel in a foreign state with law that is unfamiliar and trying to have good atty-client contact is a negative.

Where you are the plaintiff but the contract or facts require suit in a foreign state, then this is a negative to you.

So, the fight for "law and jurisdiction" can be a big one if not covered in an underlying contract.

I hope this helps. Again, the law and the court rules are state-based so you would need to talk to an attorney in your home state to get more specific information.

For business law matters involving business owners, small business or commercial litigation in or involving Arizona you can talk to us because we are Phoenix and Arizona business attorneys.

Law Offices of Donald W. Hudspeth, P.C.

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Phoenix, Arizona 85012

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