Keller and Heckman LLP Litigation Alert: In the Wake of Nicastro, Illinois Reaffirms Jurisdiction Over Foreign Manufacturer

The U.S. Supreme Court's decision in J. McIntyre Machinery Ltd. v. Nicastro [enhanced version available to lexi.com subscribers], seemingly limited the power of state courts to exercise specific jurisdiction over a foreign defendant. Nicastro held, in a divided opinion, that a small number of sales of a product within a state is not sufficient to confer jurisdiction on a foreign defendant even when that product is distributed by an American company.

Some states, however, may be trying to limit the reach of that decision. Prior to Nicastro, the Illinois Court of Appeals had held in Russell v. SNFA [enhanced version] that Illinois courts had jurisdiction over a French company that sold tail-rotor bearings to an Italian company when those bearings ultimately ended up in a helicopter that crashed in Illinois, killing the pilot. No. 1-09-3012 (Ill. App. Ct. Sept. 25, 2009). Our analysis of that decision can be found here.

Following Nicastro, the Illinois Supreme Court directed the Illinois Court of Appeals to review its decision in Russell. The Illinois Court of Appeals did so and reaffirmed its earlier holding that Illinois courts had both specific jurisdiction over the foreign manufacturer and jurisdiction to the extent permitted by the due process clause of the fourteenth amendment of the U.S. Constitution. The court noted that each of the Nicastro opinions had cited Asahi Metal Industry Co. v. Superior Court [enhanced version], which until Nicastro was the Supreme Court's most authoritative statement on specific jurisdiction, with approval. The Asahi court had cited Rockwell International Corp v. Costruzioni Aeronautiche Giovanni Agusta, S.p.A. [enhanced version] as an example of a case in which minimum contacts existed because the defendant had designed its product in anticipation of sales in the forum state.

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