Question

On February 1st, a building owner in New York, Barry Builder, contracted with a tenant from New Jersey, Lisa Leaser, for the lease of Barry Builder's building in Baltimore, MD beginning on April 1st. At the same time, Barry Builder contracted with Caren's Construction, a Baltimore, MD business, to renovate the building. The contract between Barry Builder and Caren's Construction specified that all renovations were to be completed no later than March 20th.

The lease agreement between Barry Builder and Lisa Leaser contained a clause providing that if the building were not ready for occupancy by April 1st, Barry Builder would pay the costs incident to storing Lisa Leaser's business inventory until such time that Barry Builder's building would be ready. As of April 1st, Caren's Construction had not completed the agreed upon renovations, which prompted Barry Builder to file a lawsuit against the renovation company seeking to recover not only the rental value of the building during the period of delay but also the amount that he had been obliged to pay Lisa Leaser for storing her inventory.
What type (in personam, in rem, quasi in rem) jurisdiction would the court (identified in your answer A) have for this case? Explain your answer.

Answer 1

To determine the type of jurisdiction that would be applicable in this case, it is necessary to identify the court that would have jurisdiction over the matter. The location of the court that has jurisdiction would depend on the specific jurisdictions where the parties are located, where the contract was formed, and where the cause of action arose.

Assuming that the lawsuit was filed in a court that has jurisdiction over the matter, the type of jurisdiction that would be applicable in this case is in personam jurisdiction.

In personam jurisdiction is the power of a court to render a decision that is binding on a particular person or entity. It is based on the presence of the defendant within the court's geographic jurisdiction, or on the defendant's contacts with the jurisdiction. In this case, the defendant is Caren's Construction, a Baltimore, MD business, and the lawsuit was filed by Barry Builder in response to the alleged breach of contract by Caren's Construction. Therefore, the court would have personal jurisdiction over Caren's Construction because it is located in the same jurisdiction where the court is located.

In rem jurisdiction is the power of a court to adjudicate the rights and interests of all persons in a specific piece of property, regardless of whether they are present in the court's jurisdiction. Quasi in rem jurisdiction is similar to in rem jurisdiction, but it involves the seizure or attachment of property located within the court's jurisdiction as a means of obtaining jurisdiction over the defendant. Neither in rem nor quasi in rem jurisdictionwould be applicable in this case because the dispute is not centered on the ownership or possession of a specific piece of property, but rather on the alleged breach of contract by Caren's Construction. The lawsuit seeks to recover damages for breach of contract, which is a claim against the defendant's personal liability rather than against a specific piece of property. Therefore, in personam jurisdiction would be the appropriate type of jurisdiction for this case.