It’s Tough To Be Ford

Numerous cases and tests determine whether a state can exercise jurisdiction over a defendant. The buzzwords include general personal jurisdiction, specific personal jurisdiction, minimum contacts, stream of commerce, and “arises from.” In a spring 2021 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court provided clarity to the “arises from” jurisprudence in a majority opinion authored by Justice Kagan. In his April Illinois Bar Journal article, “It’s Tough To Be Ford,” Grant A. Bosnich examines the Court’s ruling in this 2021 case (Ford Motor Company).

In short, Bosnich writes, where a defendant purposefully directs its activities at a state (e.g., selling cars there) the defendant has “purposefully availed” themselves of that state, satisfying the first prong of the specific jurisdiction test. With this prong fulfilled, only the “arises from” test is left in question, and the Ford decision provides definitive guidance in satisfying this second prong.

Read the full article "It’s Tough To Be Ford" in the April 2022 Illinois Bar Journal.