Hain Celestial Group v. Palmquist
On July 7, 2025, WLF urged the Supreme Court to reverse a decision by the Fifth Circuit that would require a Texas court to re-try a tort case between a Texas plaintiff and an out-of-state defendant. As WLF’s amicus brief explains, once a case has been tried to verdict, substantial interests in judicial economy and finality overwhelm any jurisdictional flaws that may have existed at the time of trial. In particular, the brief highlights two reasons to preserve the federal judgment. First, founding-era skepticism, which has been proven true by experience, that state courts may discriminate against out-of-state parties. Second, the modern practice of judicial elections only amplifies that risk, given that judges are elected by a (necessarily) in-state constituency.
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