Jurisdiction

Jurisdiction in Mass Torts

One of the earliest strategic decisions in litigation that could become a mass tort is jurisdiction­—the power of a court to hear a particular type of suit or a suit against particular parties. Jurisdictional questions will persist throughout the course of a mass tort, even if they are put on hold for some time during the litigation. The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision in Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. v. Superior Court of California significantly altered the mass tort landscape, and its decision in twin cases against Ford Motor Company heard in the October Term 2020 will further influence mass torts going forward.