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Firm Memoranda

Supreme Court Modifies "Specific Jurisdiction" Analysis, Making It More Difficult To Obtain Personal Jurisdiction in Tort Suits

Date: 07/11/11

On June 27, 2011, the Supreme Court of the United States decided two companion cases -- Goodyear Dunlop Tires Operations, S.A. v. Brown, and J. McIntyre Machinery, Ltd. v. Nicastro -- addressing the ability of state courts to exercise personal jurisdiction over foreign corporations in tort suits where the defendants' products had entered the forum state after originally being sold elsewhere. In holding that neither case could proceed, the Court reiterated its longstanding distinction between "specific jurisdiction" and "general jurisdiction" and, in J. McIntyre, effectively eliminated the "stream of commerce" doctrine for purposes of establishing specific jurisdiction over a defendant.

CGR Memo - Supreme Court Modifies 'Specific Jurisdiction' Analysis Making It More Difficult to Obtain Personal Jurisdiction in Torts Suits.pdf (pdf | 41.13 KB )