won small claims suit

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?OHIO I won small claim judgement against 1st Defendant. The judgement against 2nd Defendant was dismissed b/c the business was in NJ and Ohio doesn't have jurisdiction.. Can the 2nd Defendant file any kind of counter suit against me? The 2nd Defendant threatened to sue me for their lawyer fees.

plaintif said:

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?OHIO I won small claim judgement against 1st Defendant. The judgement against 2nd Defendant was dismissed b/c the business was in NJ and Ohio doesn't have jurisdiction.. Can the 2nd Defendant file any kind of counter suit against me? The 2nd Defendant threatened to sue me for their lawyer fees.

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You should be so fortunate that they are so stupid as to attempt to sue for their attorney fees.

In order to obtain personal jurisdiction over you their lawsuit would have to filed in Ohio, for the same non-resident reasons your suit against them would need to be filed in New Jersey.

And by doing that they would be submitting to the personal jurisdiction of the Ohio court permitting you to file your original claim as a counter claim.

There is no way that they could make a limited or special appearance in Ohio and at the same time ask for monetary relief without submitting to the Ohio court’s in personam jurisdiction

plaintif said:

Can the 2nd Defendant file any kind of counter suit against me? The 2nd Defendant threatened to sue me for their lawyer fees.

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And now for a legally ACCURATE response (versus the 'gee, I don't know' response you just got).

Yes, the party can pursue their legal fees against you.... and yes, it can even be done without concerns for having to surrender to the jurisdiction of your 'home court'.
Let me tell you how I would do it....
First, I wouldn't file in small claims. I would file in the 'Court of Common Pleas'. Yes, you could file your counter-claim there... but you would be at a huge disadvantage since you wouldn't know the formal 'Rules of Court' and 'Rules of Evidence'. You would very quickly get swamped.

Of course, the entire issue really depends on how much they are threatening you with. Far more likely that this is just an idle threat and I wouldn't waste much time worrying about it.