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Sarah Kelly, Deputy Chair of Nutter’s Litigation Department and a partner in the firm’s Business Litigation and White Collar Defense practice groups, and Brian Lee, an associate in Nutter’s Litigation Department and a member of the Product Liability practice group, will present a Bloomberg BNA webinar entitled, “Supreme Court Shakes Up Personal Jurisdiction Law – Where Do We Go From Here?”, on September 28.

The U.S. Supreme Court drastically changed the landscape of mass tort litigation and personal jurisdiction with a ruling in late June. In Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. v. Superior Court of California, the Court found that the State of California did not have jurisdiction over the claims of out-of-state plaintiffs brought against Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS), arising out of the alleged use of Plavix, a drug manufactured by BMS. The Supreme Court held that California lacked jurisdiction over the claims of out-of-state residents “regardless of the extent of [the] defendant’s unconnected activities in the State.” In other words, even if a defendant, like BMS, has a significant presence in the state, an out-of-state plaintiff generally cannot bring suit in that state unless the actual claims “arise out of” or “relate to” the defendant’s contacts with the forum. On this issue, the Supreme Court very clearly sided with the defendants – and given the Bristol-Myers Squibb decision, as well as other recent Supreme Court precedent, plaintiffs’ choice of forum will be extremely limited in the future.

In light of the Supreme Court ruling and its rulings on general jurisdiction in recent years, how will the plaintiffs’ bar react in future product liability cases? What will happen to current cases pending in tradition plaintiff-friendly jurisdictions? Will defendants increase their personal jurisdiction challenges in order to obtain a “home court” advantage?

Sarah and Brian will address these and other key questions in the webinar about the future of personal jurisdiction law. The webinar will also provide practical tips on a company’s options and how to structure a company to mitigate the risk of facing litigation in an unfamiliar forum.