In Bristol-Myers Squibb, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that personal jurisdiction requires connection between the forum state and specific claims made. A Missouri court of appeals subsequently vacated a talcum powder verdict against Johnson & Johnson because claims against it had no connection to Missouri.
“The impact of Bristol-Myers Squibb on the issue of personal jurisdiction for the trial court was not the result of a new rule of law, but a reaffirmation of the traditional rules of personal jurisdiction discussed long ago by the Supreme Court in International Shoe, and more recently reaffirmed in Daimler,” Judge Kurt Odenwald emphasized in his concurring opinion.
In short, attorneys must establish a connection to the chosen forum and show that plaintiffs are from that state, that allegedly injurious products were purchased there, or that the defendant is headquartered or incorporated there.
Nevertheless, the attorneys who sued Bayer on behalf of women allegedly injured by its contraceptive device Essure persuaded two trial courts and an appeals court that Madison County was the proper forum, even though 160 of the plaintiffs did not live in Illinois and Bayer is neither headquartered nor incorporated here.
The drug company appealed again, however, and the Illinois Supreme Court has now ruled unanimously in its favor, tossing the out-of-state plaintiffs from the suit.
Attorney Mark Behrens of Shook Hardy & Bacon emphasizes that the decision merely affirms the status quo, but the status quo needs to be affirmed every now and then to make sure it doesn’t become the status quo ante.
“The issue going forward,” he says, “is what impact it will have.”
For instance, defendants who think they’re more likely to reach a satisfactory settlement in Illinois than in other, costlier venues are not likely to protest the presence of out-of-state plaintiffs.
“So, right now, people are choosing to stay if settlements are reasonable and fair,” Behrens explains. “If courts go back to being unfair and higher settlements, that’s when you might see companies reconsider.”
In the meantime, a proper precedent has been reaffirmed.