On January 11, 2021, the Supreme Court declined to grant review in an important personal-jurisdiction case. The ruling was setback for WLF, which had filed an amicus brief in the case urging review. Although the Supreme Court’s 2017 Bristol-Myers decision cut back on a court’s exercise of jurisdiction over out-of-state defendants, a Seventh Circuit panel held that Bristol-Myers does not apply in federal court. WLF’s brief argued that the Seventh Circuit’s deeply flawed holding, if left to stand, would erode Supreme Court precedent, undermine uniform application of Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 4(k), and harm business as well as the judicial system. Highlighting the flaws in the appeals court’s analysis, WLF contended that review was needed to prevent the lower courts from transforming specific jurisdiction in a class action into “a loose and spurious form of general jurisdiction.” WLF’s amicus brief was joined by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
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