§ 8.01-328.Person defined.

Chapter 9 of Title 8.01 governs when a Virginia court may exercise personal jurisdiction over someone, and Section 8.01-328 opens that chapter by defining the term that anchors it. “Person” includes an individual, along with his executor, administrator, or other personal representative, and it also includes a corporation, partnership, association, or any other legal or commercial entity.

The definition is deliberately indifferent to where the person or entity comes from. It applies whether or not the person is a citizen or domiciliary of Virginia, and whether or not the entity was organized under Virginia law. That breadth matters because the long-arm statute in § 8.01-328.1 reaches out to nonresidents and out-of-state entities precisely because they are not Virginia citizens or Virginia-organized businesses — this definition makes sure the chapter’s jurisdictional reach is not accidentally narrowed by a cramped reading of who counts as a “person.”