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Code · Kentucky · Kentucky Revised Statutes

454.210 Personal jurisdiction of courts over nonresident -- Service of process -- Fee

848 words·~4 min read·/ky/454-210

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-- Venue.
(1)As used in this section, "person" includes an individual, his or her executor,
administrator, or other personal representative, or a corporation, partnership,
association, or any other legal or commercial entity, who is a nonresident of this
Commonwealth.
(2)A court may exercise personal jurisdiction over a person who is a party to a civil
action on any basis consistent with the Constitution of Kentucky and the
Constitution of the United States, including but not limited to the person's:
(a)Transacting any business in this Commonwealth;
(b)Contracting to supply services or goods in this Commonwealth;
(c)Causing tortious injury by an act or omission in this Commonwealth;
(d)Causing tortious injury in this Commonwealth by an act or omission,
including but not limited to designing, manufacturing, or marketing products,
including product components, outside this Commonwealth, which are used
or consumed in this Commonwealth or regularly available for purchase in this
Commonwealth if he or she does or solicits business, or engages in any other
course of conduct, or derives substantial revenue from goods used or
consumed or services rendered in this Commonwealth;
(e)Causing injury in this Commonwealth to any person by breach of warranty
expressly or impliedly made in the sale of goods outside this Commonwealth
when the seller knew such person would use, consume, or be affected by, the
goods in this Commonwealth, if he or she also does or solicits business, or
engages in any other course of conduct, or derives substantial revenue from
goods used or consumed or services rendered in this Commonwealth;
(f)Having an interest in, using, or possessing real property in this
Commonwealth, providing the claim arises from the interest in, use of, or
possession of the real property, provided, however, that such in personam
jurisdiction shall not be imposed on a nonresident who did not himself or
herself voluntarily institute the relationship, and did not knowingly perform,
or fail to perform, the act or acts upon which jurisdiction is predicated;
(g)Contracting to insure any person, property, or risk located within this
Commonwealth at the time of contracting;
(h)Committing sexual intercourse in this state which intercourse causes the birth
of a child when:
1. The father or mother or both are domiciled in this state;
2. There is a repeated pattern of intercourse between the father and mother
in this state; or
3. Said intercourse is a tort or a crime in this state; or
(i)Making a telephone solicitation, as defined in KRS 367.46951, or a charitable
solicitation as defined in KRS 367.650 via telecommunication, into the
Commonwealth.
(a)When personal jurisdiction is authorized by this section, service of process
may be made:
1. In any manner authorized by the Kentucky Rules of Civil Procedure;
2. On such person, or any agent of such person, in any county in this
Commonwealth, where he or she may be found; or
3. On the Secretary of State who, for this purpose, shall be deemed to be
the statutory agent of such person.
(b)The clerk of the court in which the action is brought shall issue a summons
against the defendant named in the complaint. The clerk shall execute the
summons either by:
1. Sending by certified mail two
(2)true copies to the Secretary of State
and shall also mail with the summons two
(2)attested copies of
plaintiff's complaint; or
2. Transmitting an electronically attested copy of the complaint and
summons to the Secretary of State via the Kentucky Court of Justice
electronic filing system.
(c)The Secretary of State shall, within seven
(7)days of receipt thereof in his or
her office, mail a copy of the summons and complaint to the defendant at the
address given in the complaint. The letter shall be posted by certified mail,
return receipt requested, and shall bear the return address of the Secretary of
State. The clerk shall make the usual return to the court, and in addition the
Secretary of State shall make a return to the court showing that the acts
contemplated by this statute have been performed, and shall attach to his or
her return the registry receipt, if any. Summons shall be deemed to be served
on the return of the Secretary of State and the action shall proceed as provided
in the Rules of Civil Procedure.
(d)The clerk mailing the summons to the Secretary of State shall mail to him or
her, at the same time, a fee of ten dollars ($10), which shall be taxed as costs
in the action. The fee for a summons transmitted electronically pursuant to
this subsection shall be transmitted to the Secretary of State on a periodic
basis.
(4)When the exercise of personal jurisdiction is authorized by this section, any action
or suit may be brought in the county wherein the plaintiff resides or where the cause
of action or any part thereof arose.
(5)A court of this Commonwealth may exercise jurisdiction on any other basis
authorized in the Kentucky Revised Statutes or by the Rules of Civil Procedure,
notwithstanding this section.
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