The Supreme Court's opinion on personal jurisdiction in
BMS v. Superior Court has already made a substantial
impact, despite being on the books for a mere three weeks.
That's probably because it's the Supreme Court and also
because personal jurisdiction is an issue in every lawsuit filed,
whether in state or federal court. Another reason could be that the
California Supreme Court's opinion reaching for personal
jurisdiction in BMS was so clearly swimming against the
Supreme Court's recent current that its reversal was widely
anticipated and thus gained notoriety even faster than usual. That
last part is speculation, but still, we have not heard so much
about personal jurisdiction since poor Mr. Burnham traveled from
New Jersey to California to visit his kids. See
Burnham v. Superior Court, 495 U.S. 604 (1990).
