The global reach of U.S. personal jurisdiction

During its 2010-11 term, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear two cases that address for the first time in decades important issues concerning the requirements under the due process clause of the 14th Amendment for state courts to assert personal jurisdiction over non-U.S. defendants. The Court has granted certiorari and ordered argument in tandem of these cases, which involve decisions of state appellate courts in North Carolina and New Jersey arising from claims for injuries in France and New Jersey from allegedly defective products made in Turkey and England, respectively. Briefs for petitioners in both cases were filed in mid-November and, in addition, the United States filed an amicus curiae brief in support of the petitioners in the case involving the claims in North Carolina. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and three other industry associations filed amicus briefs in support of the petitioners in both cases. Oral argument is scheduled for Jan. 11, 2011.

When it last addressed some of the issues raised by these pending cases, the Court repeated Justice John Marshall Harlan’s warning that “[g]reat care and reserve should be exercised when extending our notions of personal jurisdiction into the international field.” Asahi Metal Industry Co. v. Supreme Court of California, 480 U.S. 102, 115 (1987). Both pending cases raise important questions about when U.S. courts may hear claims arising from alleged injuries caused by products manufactured and placed into commerce by corporations that operate multinationally. From the decisions to be reviewed and from the briefs filed to date, it is clear that the American companies that sell, invest and operate in a globalized economy have a major stake in these cases.