SCOTUS Decision in Daimler Shields Multinationals In U.S. Courts

The underlying facts of Daimler v. Bauman, decided by the U.S. Supreme Court last month, don’t make it sound like a decision of much practical consequence for today’s companies. Plaintiffs worked, or were relatives of those who had worked, at an Argentine Mercedes Benz plant in the 1970s and 80s. They alleged that Mercedes Benz Argentina cooperated with the Argentine dictatorship during its “Dirty War,” and they sued under the Alien Tort Claims Act and the Torture Victims Protection Act. But according to a post from Foley & Lardner, for multinational companies doing business in U.S. states by way of parent-subsidiary structures, “the practical implications of the decision cannot be overstated.” The reason has to do with how the Court refined the definition of “general jurisdiction,” and the upshot is the range of jurisdictions where these companies can be sued has been reduced.