On March 17, 2025, WLF asked the Supreme Court to review, and ultimately to summarily reverse, a controversial personal-jurisdiction decision from a California state court. There, the California courts held that they had personal jurisdiction over the New Jersey company simply because its former employee elected to join a California company and promptly filed suit in California court. In its amicus brief urging summary reversal, WLF explains why horizontal federalism protects against tyranny by diffusing power not only between the States and the federal government, but also among the fifty States. Such federalism interests constitute a separate, independent check on personal jurisdiction, serving to prevent State overreach no matter the weight of a defendant’s convenience concerns. WLF’s brief was prepared with the generous pro bono assistance of Judd E. Stone II, Christopher D. Hilton, and Cody C. Coll of Stone Hilton.
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