Audi AG v. L.W.

On January 20, 2026, the Supreme Court declined to review a California state court’s decision to exercise personal jurisdiction over Audi AG in a products-liability case. This leaves in place that court’s decision that when Audi—a German company with no relevant contacts in California—placed a product in the “stream of commerce,” it opened the door to suit in California. WLF’s brief urged the Court to grant review, eliminate the “stream of commerce” rationale for jurisdiction, and limit case-linked jurisdiction to cases where a company “knowingly causes” the distribution of a product to a forum State.