California’s courts have never met a case they did not like. Or, more precisely, they have never met a case over which they would not exercise jurisdiction if arguably supported by the facts, and even when not supported by the facts. We are exaggerating, of course, but not by much. You will recall that the
Personal jurisdiction
Acquisition of Raw Materials does not Support Personal Jurisdiction

This is called the Drug and Device Law blog, but every once in a while we discuss cases that involve neither drugs nor devices. Usually that is because those cases offer lessons applicable in our subject matter area. Or – and this is a confession – sometimes those cases are simply fun. For example, we…
This Is Why You Should Think Twice About MDL Direct Filing

We have long thought that “direct filing” procedures in multidistrict litigation were a solution in search of a problem. We also think direct filing procedures in MDLs pose significant waiver risks without a corresponding upside. Alas, our inclinations were confirmed recently when the Seventh Circuit ruled that a mass tort defendant’s acquiescence to complaints filed…
New Mexico Rejects Corporate Registration as Basis for Personal Jurisdiction

New Mexico calls itself the Land of Enchantment, and with good reason. Carlsbad Caverns, White Sands National Monument, the Albuquerque Balloon Festival, the ski slopes of Taos, and Chaco Culture National Historic Park are all splendid visual treasures. A green chili burger is a lovely work of art. And there is a reason all that…
D. Minnesota Dumps Non-Diverse Plaintiff’s Claim for Lack of Personal Jurisdiction

Today’s case, BCBSM, Inc. v. Celgene Corp., 2021U.S. Dist. LEXIS 52785 (March 22, 2021), is an antitrust case. The plaintiffs alleged that a pharma company suppressed generic competition. We enjoy reading antitrust cases, always doing so with a healthy skepticism about the merits of the claims. We did, after all, attend the University of…
Talc MDL Court Reaffirms Dismissals Based on Lack of Personal Jurisdiction

Last July, Bexis blogged about two inconsistent personal jurisdiction rulings in talc litigation. Those rulings created a personal jurisdiction split between a Missouri court and the talc MDL court on whether non-Missouri plaintiffs could sue a non-Missouri defendant in Missouri even if those plaintiffs did not use the product or suffer an injury in…
Hoosier Daddy: Personal Jurisdiction Edition

We’ve all seen lists of so-called hellhole jurisdictions — court systems that treat corporate defendants brutally. What about a list of the places where corporations get a fair shake? Indiana would be on that list. Jurors in the Hoosier State don’t casually toss around multimillion dollar verdicts. Further, both federal and state judges in Indiana…
M.D. Georgia Exercises Personal Jurisdiction over Japanese Company Based on Activities of U.S. Distributor

We often say, as we said last week, that this blog is not designed to do plaintiffs’ work for them. Thus, we are a heckuva lot more likely to trumpet pro-defense rulings than wrong ones. Still, it is important to know the problem areas out there, and today’s case displays one of them. It…
New York Holds that Registration to do Business does not Constitute Consent to General Personal Jurisdiction

When we see a case title with the same name on both sides of the v, we think of Jarndyce v. Jarndyce, the will contest described by Dickens in Bleak House. That fictional case dragged on for years and throughout the course of the book, ending only when legal expenses devoured all the…
D.Utah Rejects Personal Jurisdiction over Parent Company; Trims Claims Against Subsidiary

Don’t stop us if you’ve heard this before, because you have. A plaintiff brings an lawsuit over injuries allegedly from a medical device, sues not only the company that made and marketed the device but also a parent company that did not make or market the device, said parent moves for dismissal for want…