Fitch Ratings, Inc. v. First Community Bank, N.A.

Case Updates

The petition for certiorari was denied.

The U.S. Chamber asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review a decision of the Tennessee Supreme Court that held that a court, in the absence of specific or general jurisdiction, nevertheless may exercise personal jurisdiction over an out-of-state defendant alleged to be a “co-conspirator” based on the “co-conspirators” contacts with the forum. The U.S. Chamber’s amicus brief argues that this so-called “conspiracy jurisdiction” theory is incompatible with the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. Whenever a court applies conspiracy jurisdiction, there is a substantial risk of a due process violation even if the court ultimately concludes that it lacks jurisdiction. The amicus brief also explains that courts have begun to apply conspiracy jurisdiction at an alarmingly frequent rate, making it all the more important for the Court to address this issue at this time.

Lisa Blatt and Reeves Anderson of Arnold & Porter LLP, now Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer LLP, served as counsel for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce on behalf of the U.S. Chamber Litigation Center.