U.S.: Stakes are high for businesses, products liability plaintiffs in Supreme Court’s new Ford cases Friday, January 24, 2020
Reuters
On [Jan. 17], the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear two cases in which Ford is challenging rulings by state supreme courts that allowed state residents involved in in-state car accidents to proceed with product liability suits against Ford.
The company and its amici from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the National Association of Manufacturers and other business groups are hoping that the Supreme Court uses the cases to establish that plaintiffs in personal injury suits cannot establish specific personal jurisdiction unless they can show that defendants’ actions within the jurisdiction led directly to the claims in the case.
How big a deal would such a ruling be? Very big indeed, said trial lawyer Kyle Farrar of Kaster Lynch Farrar & Ball, who represents the plaintiff in one of the Ford cases the Supreme Court will hear. “These cases could fundamentally change products liability law in this country forever,” Farrar said.