Finally, as all the Mallory opinions make clear, jurisdictional litigation in Mallory itself is not over. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court’s interpretation of the Pennsylvania statute has not
Personal Jurisdiction
A Dismissal Trifecta: Personal Jurisdiction, Preemption, and Twombly Doom Product-Liability Claims in the Northern District of Ohio

Today we report on Farson v. Coopersurgical, Inc., 2023 WL 5002818 (N.D. Ohio 2023), a product-liability decision that dismissed all claims against all defendants based on lack of personal jurisdiction, preemption, and Twombly.
Claiming that she was injured when an implantable medical device migrated in her body, the plaintiff brought suit in Ohio…
A Lawyer Reads The New Yorker
Guest Post − Let the Dormant Commerce Clause Challenge to Consent Statutes Go Forth

Today’s guest post is from friend-of-the-Blog Richard Dean of Tucker Ellis. For years he has been advocating greater defense use of the dormant Commerce Clause, and given the discussion of that constitutional defense in the pivotal Alito concurrence in the recent Mallory v. Norfolk Southern Railway Co., ___ S. Ct. ___, 2023 WL 41877494 (U.S. June 27, 2023), personal jurisdiction decision, he is back again. He’s too nice to say “I told you so,” but he’s earned the right. As always our guest bloggers deserve 100% of the credit, and any blame, for what they write.Continue Reading Guest Post − Let the Dormant Commerce Clause Challenge to Consent Statutes Go Forth
Litigation Tourism Lives – Mallory Reversed

If Mallory v. Norfolk Southern Railway Co., slip op. (June 27, 2023), were a prescription medical product case, it would probably qualify as the worst judicial decision since the Blog was created – due to its potential scope. Since it’s not, Wyeth v. Levine, 555 U.S. 555 (2009), retains that title. But because it does not arise from what we do, Mallory is in certain ways worse. Not only does it give free reign to all litigation tourism in Pennsylvania, but it opens the door to any other state potentially to do the same thing.Continue Reading Litigation Tourism Lives – Mallory Reversed
Ninth Circuit Finds No Personal Jurisdiction Over Administrative Consultant

We step outside the drug and device world today to report on Davis v. Cranfield Aerospace Solutions, Limited, — F4th –, 2023 WL 4141670 (9th Cir. Jun. 23, 2023), because if you substitute FDA for FAA in this case it is precedent for precluding personal jurisdiction over FDA consultants and others who assist…
Fortune Favors The Bold Plaintiff In Texas Personal Jurisdiction Case

Lawyers and wannabe lawyers like to use Latin words and phrases without always understanding their original meaning. English, a Germanic language according to the family tree, is peppered with words that are derived from Latin. Being the conglomeration that it is, English includes some words—egregious comes to mind—that now mean the opposite of their Latin…
District of Rhode Island: Receiving a Prescription in the Forum State Does Not Confer Specific Personal Jurisdiction

Thanks to our friend Adam Masin for sending us today’s hot-off-the-presses case, and a shout-out to Adam and his colleague Nancy Kelly, both of Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani, for the great result. We’ll get to that in a moment.
First, we ask your indulgence as we report that our baby is leaving the…
What’s In a Name? A Lot When It Comes to Specific Personal Jurisdiction

Today’s message is a reminder that specific personal jurisdiction is just that – both specific and personal. That means plaintiffs can’t group plead their way around personal jurisdiction lumping parents and subsidiaries together. Plaintiffs must identify each defendant’s individual role in causing the alleged harm. If plaintiffs seek to impute the jurisdictional contacts of one…
Ninth Circuit Holds The Line On Post-Ford Personal Jurisdiction

We have never been sued in Hawaii. At least not yet. It could be that someday someone will call us to task for eating too much shave ice or using the word “mahalo” incorrectly. But so far we have traversed the Aloha State unscathed by legal exposure. Our favorite Hawaiian island is Kauai, the Garden…