SCOTUS Invites Further Litigation to Test Bounds of Personal Jurisdiction Over Corporate Defendants
Highlights
The U.S. Supreme Court recently decided that Ford can be sued in the two states where the plaintiffs reside and were injured, regardless of where Ford designed, built or sold the vehicles in question
More litigation is expected to test the rules for personal jurisdiction over out-of-state corporate defendants
The Court was unanimous in the outcome but not in its reasoning
On March 25, 2021, the U.S. Supreme Court issued an essentially unanimous decision that may expose companies to more frequent litigation outside of their home states. In Ford Motor Co. v. Montana Eighth Judicial District Court, et al., the Supreme Court held by an 8-0 vote (with Justice Amy Coney Barrett not participating) that Ford is subject to personal jurisdiction in the state where a plaintiff resides and was injured, even though the Ford vehicle was originally sold in a different state.
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