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U.S. Supreme Court Overturns NJ Supreme Court's Extension of Long-arm Jurisdiction

By James J. 'J.' Ferrelli and Paul M. da Costa
August 29, 2011

On June 27, 2011, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a decision addressing personal jurisdiction over foreign manufacturers for product liability claims involving products shipped to and sold in the United States. In J. McIntyre Machinery, Ltd. v. Nicastro, 180 L. Ed. 2d 765 (June 27, 2011), Justice Kennedy authored a plurality opinion for four members of the Court that, combined with Justice Breyer's concurring opinion, overturned the Supreme Court of New Jersey's decision that had held a foreign manufacturer of an industrial recycling machine was subject to New Jersey's long-arm jurisdiction, in a New Jersey product liability case under the stream-of-commerce doctrine. The NJ Supreme Court had concluded that a foreign manufacturer that distributed its products through a nationwide distribution system that might cause those products to be sold in any of the 50 states was subject to personal jurisdiction in New Jersey.

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