The Assault on Traditional Long-Arm Jurisdiction Continues

Whether a result of currency exchange rates, product distribution chains, labor costs, debt ratios, political issues, or the technological flow of information, what happens on one side of the world influences and often controls the reaction on the other side of the globe. Multinational companies and economies interact with one another like never before. Despite the current economic woes, manufacturers consistently target the U.S. market with the goal of selling and distributing their products throughout all 50 states. Often, these international manufacturers utilize and work closely with U.S.-based distributors to manufacture, market, sell, and distribute their products, or these manufacturers can sell their products directly over the Internet to customers all over the world. Business dealings now may not involve personal visits, attendance at meetings or industry trade shows, a physical presence, or any of the minimum contacts that have been utilized previously to evaluate personal jurisdiction. Even so, most state and federal courts have adhered to traditional notions of due process in the exercise of long-arm jurisdiction over out-of-state manufacturers. A few courts, however, including most recently the Supreme Court of New Jersey, have broken ranks and chosen a path that challenges the basic tenets of due process.