minimum contact

A legal term for when a defendant from one state can be brought into court in another state for a civil case because the defendant's unlawful actions were committed in or purposely directed toward the state where the court resides. The defendant is said to have minimum contact when he/she is incorporated in the state in question, has visited the state, or has brought property (for sale or not) into the state. Minimum contact requirements are affiliated with the Fourteenth Amendment right of due process.