WLF Wants Court Jurisdiction Decision Tossed
The Washington Legal Foundation (WLF) has asked the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals to overturn a Missouri federal court decision that said plaintiffs who lived outside of Missouri could still sue Pfizer there alleging damages from taking the company’s Lipitor. The WLF amicus brief says that the claims alleged by the 60 out of 64 plaintiffs who live outside of Missouri are not connected to any events that took place in that state.
Despite a 2014 Supreme Court decision that made clear that a plaintiff may not sue an out-of-state corporation in a state’s courts unless the claims arise within the state, WLF says, the district court in this instance held that the 60 non-resident plaintiffs could sue in Missouri state court because their claims should be deemed to have a substantial connection with Missouri because Pfizer’s conduct in that state was similar to its conduct in the non-resident plaintiffs’ home states. The court also said that the company’s efforts to remove the case to federal court were improper and issued sanctions.
“Plaintiffs’ lawyers constantly seek to consolidate national lawsuits as a means of increasing settlement pressure on defendants,” says WLF chief counsel Richard Samp, “but the Constitution significantly limits the power of the several states to hale non-residents into their courts. In its seminal 2014 Daimler v Bauman decision, the U.S. Supreme Court made clear that a plaintiff may not sue an out-of-state corporation in a state’s courts unless his claims arise within the state. Apparently some Missouri courts are slow to pick up on the message.”