Texas is home to some of the world’s busiest airports and seaports. The state also is fortunate enough to be the home of major aircraft and vessel manufacturers and service centers. With all of its aviation- and maritime-centric business, Texas becomes the logical venue for the litigation that inevitably arises.
The past year has seen several fact-intensive aviation and maritime decisions from Texas courts, as well as a U.S. Supreme Court decision, on personal jurisdiction. While the Texas appellate decisions articulate more than 20 factors of what constitutes purposeful availment, the decisions do not hinge on how many of these factors are present in the case but rather the court’s perception of the defendant’s intended business interaction with Texas.
