Transient Jurisdiction

Transient Jurisdiction in the U.S. Legal System

Introduction: the meaning of Transient

Transient refers to something that is temporary. The word is often used in relation to occupancy of property for rent to others, such as places of lodging. Transient residents are governed by state and local laws, which vary by jurisdiction. For example, Florida state law deals with transients in the following manner:

“transient occupancy” means occupancy when it is the intention of the parties that the occupancy will be temporary. There is a rebuttable presumption that, when the dwelling unit occupied is the sole residence of the guest, the occupancy is nontransient. There is a rebuttable presumption that, when the dwelling unit occupied is not the sole residence of the guest, the occupancy is transient.

Transient Jurisdiction Definition

This legal term refers to personal jurisdiction over a defendant who is served with process while in the forum state only temporarily such as during travel. Transient jurisdiction is based on service within the forum of a nonresident defendant passing through the state, and has been upheld by the Supreme Court in Burnham v. Superior Court of Cal., 495 U.S. 604 (U.S. 1990). In this case, the court held that state courts have jurisdiction over nonresidents who are physically present in a state.

Each state has the power to hale before its courts any individual who can be found within its borders, and that once having acquired jurisdiction over such a person by properly serving him with process, a state can retain jurisdiction to enter judgment against him, no matter how fleeting his visit. Where a party is within a territory, he may justly be subjected to its process, and bound personally by the judgment pronounced, on such process, against him.

transient jurisdiction