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Foreign Manufacturer Dismissed for Lack of Personal Jurisdiction in the Southern District of Indiana

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Case:

Patterson v. Chiappa Firearms, USA, LTD, No. 1:20-cv-01430-JPH-MG, 2021 WL 4287431 (S.D. Ind. Sept. 21, 2021).

Significance:

  • First Indiana case to apply the “relate to” standard articulated in Ford Motor Co. v. Mont. Eighth Jud. Dist. Ct., 141 S. Ct. 1017 (2021).
  • Rejects a broad, unlimited stream of commerce theory for establishing personal jurisdiction.
  • Denied plaintiff jurisdictional discovery, noting that foreign nationals should not be subjected to extensive discovery in order to determine whether personal jurisdiction over them exists.

Case Analysis:

In Patterson v. Chiappa Firearms, the plaintiff, an Indiana citizen, bought a handgun from an online gun seller in Kentucky and had it delivered to Indy Arms Company in Indianapolis. The gun subsequently exploded in Indiana when the plaintiff test-fired it, fracturing the plaintiff’s finger. The gun was manufactured by Chiappa Italy and distributed by Chiappa USA.

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The Rule 702 Toolbox: How Do You Solve a Problem Like the Ninth Circuit?

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There has been much discussion recently about how Rule 702 is in need of a tune-up to better guide district courts’ gatekeeping.  More about that soon.

But a case now pending before the Supreme Court, Monsanto Company v. Hardeman, No. 21-241, demonstrates that it’s not always the fault of the district courts.  (Disclaimer:  This firm (and this author) filed an amicus brief supporting certiorari.)  Sometimes it’s about a lack of stewardship at the circuit level.  Absent direct and unequivocal guidance from the Supreme Court, appellate courts call the tune, and the district courts are required to follow it.  And in the interstices, district judges read the tea leaves and try to follow the circuit court’s leads and signals.  No one likes to get reversed.  Even if the district judges think the circuit has gotten it wrong, they honor the hierarchy and follow the commands of stare decisis, human nature and common sense.

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