A more thorough explanation:

A general appearance is when a party first comes into court and appears in the case. This means that the party recognizes the authority of the court and may come for any reason. For example, a defendant may come to court to defend themselves against a lawsuit or to challenge the court's personal jurisdiction over them.

In some states, a general appearance is different from a special appearance. A special appearance is when a party comes to court only to challenge the court's personal jurisdiction over them. In these states, a general appearance is considered consent by the defendant to personal jurisdiction, which means they waive their right to challenge personal jurisdiction or service of process.

However, in federal courts and many states, there is no distinction between general and special appearances. Any act by a party that recognizes the pending action as valid and proper can be considered a general appearance.

For example, if a defendant opposes a motion on its merits, this is considered a general appearance. It doesn't matter what the party's actual intent was in making the appearance.

Each jurisdiction has a specific time period in which a general appearance must be made after service of process is complete. If a defendant doesn't make a general appearance within this time period, the plaintiff will receive a default judgment.

It's important to note that after an attorney has appeared in court on behalf of a client, that attorney is responsible for all future appearances in court unless there is a substitution of attorneys or a court order releases the attorney.

• A defendant comes to court to defend themselves against a lawsuit. This is a general appearance.
• A defendant comes to court only to challenge the court's personal jurisdiction over them. This is a special appearance.
• A defendant opposes a motion on its merits. This is a general appearance.

These examples illustrate the definition of a general appearance. In each case, the party is appearing in court and recognizing the authority of the court. The first example is a straightforward general appearance, while the second example is a special appearance. The third example shows that any attempt by a party to seek affirmative action from the court or to seek the court's judgment on a question beyond that of jurisdiction is considered a general appearance.