Daimler AG v. Bauman: A New Era for Judicial Jurisdiction in the United States

In this article written primarily for a European audience, Professor Silberman discusses the Supreme Court’s 2014 decision in Daimler AG v. Bauman that redefined the constitutional limitations on general personal jurisdiction – holding that a corporation must be sued “at home” unless the claims being asserted relate to the corporation’s activity in the forum state. Professor Silberman highlights the significance of the decision for transnational cases, including the jurisdictional implications for foreign parent corporations and their subsidiaries. She draws comparisons with the European approach to jurisdiction under the European Regulation (now the Brussels Recast) and explains why the overall jurisdictional regime in the United States may be substantially more limited than in other countries. She offers some observations about the impact of the new U.S. jurisdictional era on a potential world-wide judgments convention being reconsidered at the Hague Conference on Private International Law. Finally, Professor Silberman notes a set of potential hurdles for the recognition and enforcement of foreign country judgments and arbitral awards if the Daimler standard is applied in that context.