Trial Magazine

The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision in Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. v. Superior Court of California restricted Americans’ access to justice. With only Justice Sonia Sotomayor dissenting, the Court held that California did not have jurisdiction to hear out-of-state plaintiffs’ claims—creating an unfair burden on injured parties and courts across the country.

Corporate defendants have been seeking dismissals in specific and general jurisdiction cases by arguing severely narrowed jurisdiction standards from those set out more than 70 years ago in International Shoe, and they are continuing this trend in the wake of the Court’s Bristol-Myers ruling. To limit the impact of these decisions, plaintiff attorneys must be ready to fight back and address jurisdiction from the onset of cases.

To help members prepare, AAJ has launched the Personal Jurisdiction Document Library. This complimentary member resource was developed by AAJ’s Legal Affairs department and is hosted by the AAJ Exchange. It allows members to share briefs, motions, case law, and scholarly research related to jurisdiction challenges.

To access the document library, visit https://www.justice.org/litigation-group/personal-jurisdiction-3. Access is restricted to AAJ plaintiff attorney members, and users will need to log in to AAJ’s website.

To help grow this resource, members should contribute briefs, motions, and research. To contribute, email materials to docdrive@justice.org with the subject line “Personal Jurisdiction.”

For more information, contact the AAJ Exchange at exchange@justice.org, (800) 344-3023, or (202) 965-3500, ext. 8615. Recordings of AAJ Education webinars and programs on personal jurisdiction are ­available at www.playbackaaj.com.