Second Circuit Ends "Doing Business" Test In New York For General Jurisdiction

Steven Raffaele is a Partner and Sean Barry an Associate in Holland & Knight's New York office.

The Court Adopts the "Essentially at Home" Test Limiting New York Courts' General Jurisdiction Over Foreign Corporations

HIGHLIGHTS:

• Following Daimler AG v. Bauman, the Second Circuit has cemented the "essentially at home test" into New York's jurisdictional jurisprudence, limiting the circumstances in which New York courts may exercise general jurisdiction over a foreign corporation.
• In Gucci America, Inc. v. Weixing Li, the court departed from the long-standing "doing business" test and held that a foreign corporation cannot be subject to general jurisdiction in New York based on maintaining offices and having employees in the state, when the corporation is not "essentially at home" in New York.