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ARTICLE · 02 APRIL 2021

Supreme Court Changes Gears On Specific Personal Jurisdiction

Holland & Knight
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The U.S. Supreme Court on March 25, 2021, ruled in an 8-0 decision that the connection between the plaintiffs' claims and Ford Motor Co.'s activities in the forum states supported the exercise...

United StatesConsumer Protection
Rebecca Plasencia
Rebecca Plasencia
Nicole S. Alvarez
Nicole S. Alvarez
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Highlights

  • The U.S. Supreme Court in Ford Motor Co. v. Montana Eighth Jud. Dist. Ct. held that when a company "serves a market for a product in a state and that product causes injury in the state to one of its residents," the state's courts have specific personal jurisdiction to hear the case.
  • The main legal issue was whether state courts have specific personal jurisdiction over a corporate defendant that has purposefully availed itself of doing business in a forum state but has not directly caused the plaintiff's injuries in that state through its forum conduct.
  • Before Ford Motor Co., plaintiffs had not prevailed in a personal jurisdiction case before the Supreme Court since the 1980s

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