Legal Question in Business Law in New Jersey

Re: Jurisdiction

I hope by now you have retained an attorney in New Jersey to file a response to this claim. If you were served before you sent your post, you may be out of time to avoid a default. As for the jurisdiction matter, if you have a written agreement which is unclear, but suggests New Jersey as the place of venue of contract disputes, then you are probably going to have to stay in New Jersey. A real attorney would need more specific information to say with more certainty. If all the defendants reside and have their places of business outside of New Jersey, then, for what it's worth, you can probably remove the case to the federal district court in New Jersey, and since federal judges enjoy transferring cases from their docket to some other court's docket, you might stand a better chance of having the case transferred to California. But this would cost an awful lot of money just to get the preliminary jurisdictional issues worked out, so be sure you consider the possibility of an early settlement.

Re: Jurisdiction

You will have to hire local counsel in New Jersey directing them to respond to the complaint and then file a motion to remove the matter to Federal court in California. You can only have it removed if there is diversity which means you are in one state and they are in another. The amount of the suit covers the minimum. Then you will need to hire California counsel to take over once the case is removed. I presume this is a contract issue and typically venue is based on either where the contract was entered into or where it was to be performed. I am admitted in California and have associates there as well. You are in for an expensive fight. If the matter is not totally contract related, turn it over to your insurance company. If there is any possiblity they might have to indemnify you they have to defend you. That way they pay the attorney fees. Note if they defend, they can pick the attorney and control the litigation. If they give you a "reservation of rights" letter you can hire your own lawyer and they have to pay for that too because they created a conflict between you and them. See Cumis v. San Diego Federal Credit Union. Cumis is state law, however, federal courts look to local law on these types of issues and apply Cumis. If your insurance company jerks you around you might have an action against them under Insurance Code section 790.03 for bad faith. That is a brutal statute for insurance companies. An associate of mine got $12 million out of Farmers last year. It is on appeal now. I don't imply that all of this applies to your case, I don't know all of the facts. You can email me with any other questions.

Re: Jurisdiction

It is nearly certain that you can get your case out

of the New Jersey state courts into the federal court

system by filing a petition for removal in the federal court

in New Jersey, and a notice of the removal in the

New Jersey state court. You will want to hire New Jersey counsel to

do this.

Then the question is whether New Jersey is a proper

location (venue) in which to resolve the matter.

Ordinarily, the proper venue is the location of the

defendant, not the location of the plaintiff. However,

if the contract is found to designate New Jersey as

the proper venue, you are stuck there. The dispute

then is one over proper interpretation of the venue

clause to which you refer. I once tried a case involving

interpretation of a "/" placed between alternatives.

The slash is called a "virgule." In the context of

negotiable instruments (such as checks), when the

instrument is written to two payees, designated

as "party one/party two", the usual result is that the

virgule is held to designate alternatives. Although

the context is different (your case is not one where

the slash used on the payee line on a check) the principle

that a slash designates alternatives is likely to apply.

Thus, it will be a hard fight to show that your contract

does not mean that venue was to be either California

of New Jersey.

You need counsel in New Jersey in any event, and you need to

act fast.

Once in the federal system, to obtain removal you

would have to file a motion for transfer to the

Re: Jurisdiction

Jurisdiction of a contract dispute can be governed by contract. Here, jurisdiction appears to have been addressed by your agreement. The courts will therefore look initially at your agreement. The issue will be whether or not the New Jersey/California designation means either or whether there is an ambiguity created thereby. Your ability to transfer the case to California will be dependent upon the resolution of this question. If you drafted the contract, the ambiguity could be resolved against you.

Given the typical rules of construction, and assuming that the agreement also has a clause against interpreting ambiguities against either side, then you are very likely stuck in New Jersey. That said, this does not mean that you are stuck in state court. If there is diversity (meaning that none of the defendants reside in or have a principal place of business in New Jersey), then you can remove the case to Federal District Court.

You need to retain counsel in New Jersey to handle the removal. If it gets transferred to California, I will be happy to handle the case on your behalf.

Ira James Harris, Esq.

2 Theatre Square, Suite 312

Orinda, CA 94563

(925) 258-5100

Re: Jurisdiction

Thank you for your inquiry.

The question as to whether this case can be removed from the New Jersey state courts is quite fact sensitive. Therefore, I need to learn more about the case.

As my office handles many civil and commercial litigation matters, please contact my office at 732-246-0909 to discuss your case.

Very truly yours,

Edward R. Weinstein