Amicus Brief in Bristol-Myers Squibb v. Superior Court

Abstract

The decision of the California Supreme Court in Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. v. Superior Court, 1 Cal.5th 783 (2016), is fully consistent with the due process standards recognized by this Court in International Shoe Co. v. Washington, 326 U.S. 310 (1945), as well as with recent doctrinal developments applying and elaborating those standards. The state high court’s substantial connection standard bridges the jurisdictional lacuna between specific and general jurisdiction and operates in a manner that is fully consistent with the federal common law doctrine of pendent personal jurisdiction. We, therefore, urge this Court to affirm the decision of the California Supreme Court.