Class Action Settlements Serve Lawyers Over Class Members
Lawsuit abuse across the U.S. results in more than $160 billion in excessive tort costs
BNSF Railway v. Tyrrell
Arguing that the Montana Supreme Court improperly applied the Daimler personal jurisdiction requirements, which state that a “foreign corporation” is subject to jurisdiction only in states in which it is incorporated and where it has its principal place of business. Also argued that the Montana Supreme Court has repeatedly defied the decisions of the US Supreme Court and reintroduced the unfairness and uncertainty the US Supreme Court sought to eliminate.
Status: On May 30, 2017, the US Supreme Court ruled in favora of ATRA’s amicus brief. The Court held that a state court may exercise jurisdiction over out-of-state corporations when their “affiliations with the State are so ‘continuous and systematic’ as to render them essentially at home in the forum state.” BNSF was not incorporated or headquartered in Montana and its activity there was not “so substantial and of such a nature as to render the corporation at home in that State.”
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