Shook Files Amici Brief Addressing Appeal of Specific Jurisdiction Ruling in Pennsylvania

Shook Partners Phil Goldberg, Joseph Blum and Cary Silverman have filed an amici brief in a case involving a Pennsylvania state court’s exercise of specific personal jurisdiction over an Indiana plaintiff’s claim against New Jersey defendants, explaining that recent decisions by the U.S. Supreme Court have redefined the reach of personal jurisdiction over out-of-state defendants. 

The state court ruled that it had specific jurisdiction over the New Jersey product manufacturers because they used Pennsylvania companies and consultants in its manufacturing process. But the Shook brief explains that under the Supreme Court’s recent jurisprudence, a plaintiff’s specific claim must be tied to the forum state. 

Goldberg, Blum and Silverman filed the brief on behalf of the Pennsylvania Manufacturers Association, the Pennsylvania Coalition for Civil Justice Reform, the National Association of Manufacturers, the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, the American Tort Reform Association, and the Coalition for Litigation Justice, Inc. 

Goldberg also is the co-author, with Partner Victor Schwartz and Of Counsel Christopher Appel, of “The U.S. Supreme Court’s Personal Jurisdiction Paradigm Shift to End Litigation Tourism,” recently published in the Duke Journal of Constitutional Law & Public Policy. The article examines in depth the Supreme Court’s establishment of new due process standards for both general and specific personal jurisdiction. 

The case is Hammons v. Ethicon, Inc., No. 7 EAP 2019 (Pa.).