Seyfarth Synopsis: Recent activity within the federal
Courts of Appeals this spring may prompt Supreme Court resolution
of a central and unsettled issue concerning personal jurisdiction
in the class-action context causing defendants to re-think pleading
stage strategies when forced to litigate in forums where they have
minimal contacts.
Generally, out-of-state defendants (not subject to general
jurisdiction) may only be sued in a forum within that state when
the suit arises out of or relates to the defendant's in-state
conduct-that is, where the defendant's minimum contacts with
the forum state are sufficient to exercise specific jurisdiction.
Assessments of whether specific jurisdiction exists become
problematic in mass-tort or class-action litigation involving both
resident and nonresident plaintiffs. In such cases, is it
sufficient that one or some of the plaintiffs reside or were
injured in the forum state, so as to allow out-of-state plaintiffs
to aggregate or
