GSK, Pfizer, and Sanofi filed similar grounds for dismissal of the Morrison action, but Boehringer did not join the motion in that case.
The plaintiffs responded by arguing that the personal jurisdiction defenses missed the mark, saying the Supreme Court expressly rejected similar arguments in Ford Motor Co. v. Montana Eighth Judicial District Court, a 2021 case, and World-Wide Volkswagen Corp. v. Woodson, a 1980 opinion.
“Defendants’ argument that they did not sell the specific product they are being held liable for under innovator liability is irrelevant to personal jurisdiction” on the asserted claims, the Connecticut plaintiffs responded.
“The relevant conduct is ‘the efforts of the manufacturer… to serve, directly or indirectly, the market for its products in other states,’ i.e., its purposeful targeting of the forum market,” they added, citing World-Wide Volkswagen.
The plaintiffs also disagreed with the companies’ purported limits on innovator liability claims, saying “personal jurisdiction exists against a brand manufacturer where the plaintiffs suffered harm from a generic and sought compensation under innovator liability.”
