TDR recently obtained a dismissal of all claims against a client in Cumberland County, Illinois. TDR argued that Illinois courts lacked personal jurisdiction. The client allegedly provided service on a truck in Arkansas. The plaintiff then drove the truck to Illinois where she was involved in a serious motor vehicle accident. The driver sued the Arkansas service provider arguing that that it knew or should have known that plaintiff would drive to Illinois. Plaintiff relied heavily on the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision in Ford Motor Company v. Montana Eighth Judicial District Court. The trial court granted the motion to dismiss, adopting TDR’s arguments that Ford Motor Company is limited to product liability cases and does not apply to one-time service contracts.
Ford Motor Company will likely generate reexamination of personal jurisdiction issues around the country. The dismissal secured by TDR signals that the Ford Motor Company rationale should be limited to certain product liability cases.
The court’s opinion can be found here.