Michigan Court Weighs In On Specific Personal Jurisdiction

• Published date: 08 December 2021
• Law Firm: Husch Blackwell LLP
• Author: Timothy P. Larkin and Lazaro Aguiar

In Murphy v. Viad Corporation, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan recently considered the issue of specific personal jurisdiction in the context of asbestos claims under the standard set forth by the Supreme Court of the United States in its recent decision in Ford Motor Co. v. Mont. Eighth Judicial Dist. Court. In doing so, the Court reinforced that specific jurisdiction cannot be established where the products at issue were never sold or marketed in that forum.

Background

On April 21, 2021, Timothy Murphy ("Murphy" or "Plaintiff") filed an asbestos-related product liability action in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan after being diagnosed with asbestosis in 2018. Murphy alleged asbestos exposure while serving in the US Navy aboard the USS Frank E. Evans ("Evans") in the 1960s while stationed in Long Beach, California. Murphy sued Defendant Viad Corporation ("Viad") for liabilities related to freshwater distilling equipment manufactured by Griscom-Russell that was installed aboard the Evans. In his Complaint, Plaintiff asserted that the Court had specific personal jurisdiction over Viad; Plaintiff never claimed that the court had personal jurisdiction via general jurisdiction. Viad subsequently filed a motion to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction.

Court's Decision

The Court began its analysis by...