Jeffs v. Ford Motor Company

Case Updates

Click here to view the opinion. The Chamber filed an amicus brief in favor of this outcome. There are more than 700 cases against Ford Motor in Madison County that were awaiting the outcome of this case. This (at present) unpublished decision may have implications for Madison County's burgeoning asbestos docket.

The U.S. Chamber filed an amicus brief urging the Appellate Court of Illinois’ Fifth Judicial District to reverse a trial court’s order and remand the case to dismiss the claims against the defendant for lack of personal jurisdiction. In this case a trial court held that the defendant corporation is subject to general personal jurisdiction in Illinois, on two theories: 1. That the corporation “conducts substantial, not do minim[i]s, business” in Illinois and 2. when the corporation registered to do business in Illinois and appointed an agent to receive service of process, this constituted “unequivocal consent to jurisdiction in Illinois”.

The Chamber’s brief discounts both of these theories by explaining that the corporation’s “substantial” business in Illinois is not a sufficient basis for general jurisdiction and that Illinois may not subject foreign corporations to general jurisdiction based solely on their registration to do business. Upholding the trial court’s decision, the Chamber explains, will discourage out-of-state companies from investing in Illinois and burden the State’s court system.

Michele Odorizzi of Mayer Brown LLP served as counsel for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce on behalf of the U.S. Chamber Litigation Center.