WASHINGTON, D.C., June 19, 2017 – With today’s announced decision of a third significant jurisdictional case by the U.S. Supreme Court this term, the American Tort Reform Association applauded the […]
WASHINGTON, D.C., June 19, 2017 – With today’s announced decision of a third significant jurisdictional case by the U.S. Supreme Court this term, the American Tort Reform Association applauded the “trifecta,” calling the decisions “welcomed relief for corporate defendants targeted by personal injury lawyers, with plenty of help by plaintiff-friendly courts in California, Montana, Texas and elsewhere.”
ATRA president Tiger Joyce observed that, “For too long, too many lower courts have encouraged ‘litigation tourism’ by ignoring both ample Supreme Court precedent and corporate defendants’ Fourteenth Amendment right to due process.
“For seven decades the high court has made it clear that only lawsuits filed where a plaintiff resides or was injured, or where a defendant is headquartered or does much of its business comply with the Constitution,” Joyce continued. “Yet some lower courts have continually sought to invent new ways around this body of precedent intended to keep plaintiffs’ lawyers from dragging corporate defendants across the country and forcing them to defend themselves in what ATRA calls ‘Judicial Hellholes.’”
Today’s 8-1 decision in Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. v. Superior Court of California for San Francisco County makes clear that state courts have no jurisdiction over plainly out-of-state defendants being sued by out-of-state plaintiffs for injuries that allegedly occurred out-of-state.
“It is particularly encouraging that the court is strongly unified in these important decisions,” Joyce said, referring to another 8-1 decision in BNSF Railway Company v. Tyrell and a unanimous 8-0 decision in TC Heartland LLC v. Kraft Foods Group Brands LLC, both announced last month.
“ATRA members hope that the high court majority’s message will settle this issue once and for all, and that the justices won’t hesitate to rebuke promptly those state judges who refuse to get with the program,” he concluded.
-ATRA-
The American Tort Reform Association, based in Washington, D.C., is the only national organization dedicated exclusively to tort and liability reform through public education and the enactment of legislation. Its members include nonprofit organizations and small and large companies, as well as trade, business and professional associations from the state and national level. The American Tort Reform Foundation is a sister organization dedicated primarily to research and public education.
WASHINGTON, D.C., July 9, 2018 – In making a rare midyear addition to its annual “Judicial Hellholes” report, the American Tort Reform Foundation announced that the Twin Cities of Minnesota […]
We at ATRA want to celebrate our colleague Geneva Carney’s 25th anniversary as a member of the team. Geneva joined our staff on July 6, 1993. Now, as the organization’s […]
WASHINGTON, D.C., June 18, 2018 – The American Tort Reform Association (ATRA) encourages Oklahoma Attorney General candidates AG Mike Hunter, Gentner Drummond, Mark Myles, and Angela Bonilla to sign ATRA’s […]
WASHINGTON, D.C., June 11, 2018 – The American Tort Reform Association (ATRA) today praised South Carolina Attorney General candidates AG Alan Wilson and William Herlong for embracing good-government principles by […]
WASHINGTON, D.C., May 10, 2018 – The American Tort Reform Association (ATRA) today praised Pennsylvania gubernatorial candidate Laura Ellsworth for embracing good-government principles by signing ATRA’s 2018 Transparency Code pledge […]
WASHINGTON, D.C., May 3, 2018– All Americans should be encouraged to know that responsible authorities in Washington and around the country are determined to address the complex public health problems […]
WASHINGTON, D.C., March 29, 2018 – The American Tort Reform Association (ATRA) today applauded Missouri lawmakers’ final passage of the Transparency in Private Attorney Contracting (TiPAC) Act, good-government legislation that […]
WASHINGTON, D.C., March 23, 2018– The American Tort Reform Association (ATRA) today applauded Wisconsin lawmakers’ final passage of a multi-part legal reform package that includes very important reforms to the […]
WASHINGTON, D.C., March 22, 2018 – The American Tort Reform Association (ATRA) today applauded Kentucky lawmakers’ final passage of the Transparency in Private Attorney Contracting (TiPAC) Act, good-government legislation that […]
WASHINGTON, D.C., December 5, 2017 – The American Tort Reform Foundation issued its 2017-2018 Judicial Hellholes® report today, naming courts in Florida, California, Missouri, New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Illinois […]
WASHINGTON, D.C., December 1, 2017 – This week, the Wisconsin Legislature unveiled its 2018 civil justice platform which features two of the American Tort Reform Association’s highest priorities: discovery […]
WASHINGTON, D.C., November15, 2017 – During its annual fall legislative conference in Austin, Texas last evening, the American Tort Reform Association presented Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker with its “Civil Justice […]
WASHINGTON, D.C., October 3, 2017 – The American Tort Reform Association is cheering a U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit decision last Friday that reversed a record-setting $663 […]
WASHINGTON, D.C., September 19, 2017 – The American Tort Reform Association today announced its support for reform legislation introduced by Congressman John Faso (R-NY) that “will allow the federal government […]
WASHINGTON, D.C., August 28, 2017 —The American Tort Reform Association (ATRA), along with the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) and the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) on Friday […]
WASHINGTON, D.C., August 23, 2017 – The American Tort Reform Association (ATRA) today praised Virginia attorney general candidate John Adams for embracing good-government principles by signing ATRA’s 2017 Transparency Code […]
WASHINGTON, D.C., August 22, 2017 – Citing California’s stubborn and long criticized reluctance to adopt unambiguously the more exacting Daubert standard for expert evidence used in all federal courts and […]
WASHINGTON, D.C., June 19, 2017 – Acknowledging the “growing scope, seriousness and complexity of our nation’s problems with the abuse of federally approved pain medication,” the American Tort Reform Association […]
WASHINGTON, D.C., June 19, 2017 – With today’s announced decision of a third significant jurisdictional case by the U.S. Supreme Court this term, the American Tort Reform Association applauded the […]
WASHINGTON, D.C., March 28, 2017 – With Gov. Eric Greitens expected to sign a key tort reform bill into law today, the American Tort Reform Association pointed again “to the […]
Lawsuit Industry’s ‘Largely Unreported’ Lobbying Success with Obama Administration Detailed
ATRA Urges Media to Focus on Other ‘Midnight’ Regulations Expected to Favor Big Donors to President’s Party as Time Runs out on His Second Term
Urges NY Lawmakers to Pass Asbestos Transparency Legislation, Says AG Schneiderman Should Investigate Fraud by Asbestos Plaintiffs’ Lawyers
