U.S. Supreme Court building in Washington, D.C. Photo: Diego M. Radzinschi/ALM U.S. Supreme Court building in Washington, D.C. Photo: Diego M. Radzinschi/ALM

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Background

In 1917, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected a due process challenge to a Missouri statute that required corporations to consent to personal jurisdiction for all purposes as a condition of registering to do business in the state. That case, Pennsylvania Fire Insurance v. Gold Issue Mining & Milling, was never overruled. Many believed, however, that the "Court's transformative decision on personal jurisdiction in International Shoe" invalidated corporate registration as a basis for all purpose or "general" jurisdiction. The Supreme Court recently reinforced that belief in Daimler AG v. Bauman, holding that absent exceptional circumstances, corporations are only subject to general jurisdiction in two "paradigm" forum states—where they are incorporated and where they maintain their principal place of business.