A ''quasi in rem'' legal action (

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

, ''"as if against a thing"'') is a

legal Law is a set of rules that are created and are law enforcement, enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior, with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been variously described as a Socia ...

action based on property rights of a person absent from the

jurisdiction Jurisdiction (from Latin 'law' and 'speech' or 'declaration') is the legal term for the legal authority granted to a legal entity to enact justice. In federations like the United States, the concept of jurisdiction applies at multiple level ...

. In the American legal system the state can assert power over an individual simply based on the fact that this individual has property (

bank account A bank account is a financial account maintained by a bank or other financial institution in which the financial transaction A financial transaction is an Contract, agreement, or communication, between a buyer and seller to exchange goods, ...

debt Debt is an obligation that requires one party, the debtor, to pay money Loan, borrowed or otherwise withheld from another party, the creditor. Debt may be owed by a sovereign state or country, local government, company, or an individual. Co ...

, share of stock,

land Land, also known as dry land, ground, or earth, is the solid terrestrial surface of Earth not submerged by the ocean or another body of water. It makes up 29.2% of Earth's surface and includes all continents and islands. Earth's land sur ...

) in the state. ''Quasi in rem'' jurisdiction does not have much function in the United States any longer. However, in very specific cases, quasi in rem jurisdiction can still be effective. A ''quasi in rem'' action is commonly used when jurisdiction over the defendant is unobtainable due to their absence from the

state State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

. Any judgment will affect only the

property Property is a system of rights that gives people legal control of valuable things, and also refers to the valuable things themselves. Depending on the nature of the property, an owner of property may have the right to consume, alter, share, re ...

seized, as ''

in personam ''In personam'' is a Latin phrase meaning "against a particular person". In a lawsuit in which the case is against a specific individual, that person must be served with a summons and complaint (in England & Wales known as Particulars of Claim (CP ...

'' jurisdiction is unobtainable. Of note, in a ''quasi in rem'' case the court may lack

personal jurisdiction Personal jurisdiction is a court's jurisdiction over the ''parties'', as determined by the facts in evidence, which bind the parties to a lawsuit, as opposed to subject-matter jurisdiction, which is jurisdiction over the ''law'' involved in the ...

over the

defendant In court proceedings, a defendant is a person or object who is the party either accused of committing a crime in criminal prosecution or against whom some type of civil relief is being sought in a civil case. Terminology varies from one juris ...

, but it has jurisdiction over the defendant's property. The property could be seized to obtain a claim against the defendant. A judgment based on ''quasi in rem'' jurisdiction generally affects rights to the property only between the persons involved and does not "bind the entire world" as does a judgment based on "''

jurisdiction in rem In law, ''in rem'' jurisdiction (Law Latin for "power about or against 'the thing) is a legal term referring to the power a court may exercise over property (either real or personal) or a "status" against a person over whom the court does not ha ...

''". The claim does not have to be related to the property seized, but the person must have minimum contacts with the forum state in order for jurisdiction to be proper.Shaffer v. Heitner, 433 U.S. 186, 97 S. Ct. 2569, 53 L. Ed. 2d 683 (1977). On June 24, 1977, in the case of '' Shaffer v. Heitner'', 433 U.S. 186, the

Supreme Court of the United States The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all Federal tribunals in the United States, U.S. federal court cases, and over Stat ...

decided that the requirement that the circumstances giving rise to jurisdiction comply with the notion of "fair play and substantial justice" should apply to the ''quasi in rem'' jurisdiction questions. The Supreme Court significantly diminished the utility of the ''quasi in rem'' jurisdiction because if the case meets the minimum contacts, fair play and substantial justice tests, the action can be brought under the ''

'' jurisdiction. ''Quasi in rem'' jurisdiction, however, can still be an effective option to bring the lawsuit to a particular court because ''quasi in rem'' jurisdiction allows litigants to overcome limitations of the long-arm statute of a particular state. There are two types of ''quasi in rem'' jurisdiction: 1) ''quasi in rem'' type 1 (QIM1); and 2) ''quasi in rem'' type 2 (QIM2). In QIM1, a plaintiff sues to secure a pre-existing claim in the subject property. For example, actions that seek quiet title against another's claim to the property. In QIM2, the plaintiff has no pre-existing claim in the subject property. That is, the property rights of the owner are not in dispute, but rather the plaintiff seeks the property so that they may satisfy a separate claim. For example, a person who walks across another's real property and falls into an open pit might have no pre-existing claim regarding the property, but may initiate a QIM2 action to redress his injury.

References

External links

Legal Information Institute – quasi in rem
{{DEFAULTSORT:Quasi In Rem Jurisdiction Latin legal terminology Civil procedure