With a pair of appellate opinions issued earlier this year, non-Pennsylvania residents could confidently sue out-of-state companies over conduct that occurred outside the Keystone State, but a recent decision by the Pennsylvania Superior Court could shake that confidence.
Late last week, the state Superior Court agreed to have an en banc panel hear the case Murray v. American LaFrance, which deals with the closely watched issue of whether registering as a foreign corporation in Pennsylvania constitutes consent to be sued there. A final decision on the question could impact a broad swath of cases, from contract suits and asbestos dockets, to a products liability case that might be the first in the state to go to trial over claims that talcum powder caused a woman’s ovarian cancer.
