Source: https://masstortnexus.com/News/128/Corporate-Defendants-Win-in-Supreme-Court-Ruling-on-Jurisdiction-for-Out-of-State-Plaintiffs
Timestamp: 2019-04-26 10:26:26+00:00

Document:
Reversing the Montana Supreme Court, the US Supreme Court decided BNSF Railway Co. v. Tyrrell, No. 16-405, on May 30, 2017, holding that a state court cannot assert jurisdiction over claims made by nonresident plaintiffs who were injured while working outside the state.
The US Supreme Court sided with defendant BNSF Railway Co., saying that such lawsuits must be filed in the state where the employee is “at home” — where it is incorporated or headquartered.
The justices ruled that §56 of the Federal Employers’ Liability Act (FELA) does not address personal jurisdiction and thus limiting the courts in which a railroad is subject to suit.
Importantly, the Court ruled that state courts must follow its 2014 ruling in Daimler AG v. Bauman, 134 S. Ct. 746, that the due process clause forbids a state court from exercising general personal jurisdiction. This broad interpretation affects another appeal filed by Bristol-Meyers Squibb, which desperately wants the US Supreme Court to reverse the California Supreme Court court, and to apply the Daimler ruling, which states may take “general jurisdiction” only over companies that are “at home” in the state.
Under FELA, railroads are liable to employees for injuries they suffer on the job. In this case, plaintiffs who lived outside Montana and had suffered injuries outside Montana sued BNSF Railway Company in Montana under FELA. BNSF did business in Montana but was incorporated and had its principal place of business elsewhere.
Because the railroad has 2,000 miles of track and more than 2,000 employees in the state, the Montana Supreme Court upheld personal jurisdiction over BNSF under FELA §56, which states that a cause of action may be brought in a district “in which the defendant shall be doing business at the time of commencing such action” and further provides that the jurisdiction of the federal courts is concurrent with that of the state courts.
The Supreme Court held that §56 does not address personal jurisdiction but rather is a venue provision that also clarifies that state courts have subject matter jurisdiction over FELA claims. Therefore, Section 56 alone did not establish a basis to summon BNSF into court in Montana.
Turning to ordinary principles of personal jurisdiction, the Court reasserted the holdings in Daimler AG v. Bauman, and Goodyear Dunlop Tires Operations, S.A. v. Brown, 564 U.S. 915 (2011), that courts may assert general jurisdiction over corporations only when they are essentially “at home” in the forum state.
Justice Ginsburg delivered the opinion of the Court, joined by Chief Justice Roberts and Justices Kennedy, Thomas, Breyer, Alito, Kagan, and Gorsuch. Justice Sotomayor filed an opinion concurring in part and dissenting in part.

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