Even though a company’s documents may be stored electronically and are therefore accessible in Pennsylvania, state courts do not have jurisdiction to compel corporate books and records from companies that don’t have an established physical location there, the state Superior Court has ruled in a precedential decision.

In an Aug. 1 opinion authored by Judge Mary Jane Bowes, who was joined by Judges Anne E. Lazarus and Correale F. Stevens, the court concluded that, despite the accessibility of electronic records stored on the so-called cloud, state courts cannot order companies to compel documents stored on the cloud unless those companies have a sufficient link to Pennsylvania.