September 7, 2018
The Pennsylvania Superior Court has unanimously held that foreign companies registered to do business in Pennsylvania have consented to general personal jurisdiction.Webb-Benjamin, LLC v. International Rug Group, LLC, the first appellate-level case in Pennsylvania addressing the issue, involves a foreign defendant and an event that took place in Canada. The foreign defendant was not registered to do business in Pennsylvania until after significant events in question took place. Still, the Superior Court, in a decision authored by Superior Court Judge John L. Musmanno, held that a business registration by a foreign entity is on its own sufficient to satisfy general personal jurisdiction over the company for its out-of-state activities. This decision differs from emerging nationwide rulings regarding registration to do business in a state and its effect on general personal jurisdiction following the Supreme Court of the United States’ recent decisions. The national trend has been to reject registration to do business in a state as a form of consent to general personal jurisdiction and to conclude that registration as consent is not consistent with due process. The Superior Court of Pennsylvania reasoned in Webb-Benjamin that consent to general jurisdiction survives due process analysis even under the Supreme Court of the United States’ decision in Daimler AG v. Bauman.
The foreign defendant in Webb-Benjamin has filed an Application for Reargument, Reconsideration and En Banc Review with the Superior Court relative to this opinion and may seek a further appeal on this issue. The attorneys at McGivney, Kluger, Clark & Intoccia will continue to monitor this evolving issue as the case law develops.