This week, we will explore how to read a judicial opinion, sometimes referred to as a case or an opinion. The case will explore a complex issue dealing with how a court can obtain personal jurisdiction over a non-resident defendant.

Before you do so, please read the following handout that describes how to read a case.

Microsoft Word - How to Read an Opinion of a Court.doc (jsu.edu)

Next, read the following case:

Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. v. Superior Court of California, 582 U.S. ___ (2017).

Supreme Court Opinion

As you may already know, lawyers do not read cases for fun. Instead, lawyers read cases to address legal questions posed by their client's legal situations.

Read the following fact pattern.

You work at a large law firm in Birmingham, Alabama as a paralegal assisting an associate assigned to the case. One of your clients is a large pharmaceutical company with its corporate office in Birmingham, Alabama. The company sells a medicine used to treat pain. In New York, an attorney filed a case action lawsuit on behalf of four hundred plaintiffs. The complaint alleges that the pharmaceutical company manufactured an addictive and dangerous drug that resulted in dozens of overdoses. Of the four hundred plaintiffs, three hundred and fifty are not citizens of New York. Your client wants to file a motion to dismiss the claims of those plaintiffs who are not citizens of New York, arguing that the New York courts lack personal jurisdiction over those plaintiffs. Specifically, the firm's client argues that the non-New York plaintiffs do not allege that the pharmaceutical company engaged in any tortious actions in New York. Instead, the non-New York plaintiffs allege that the pharmaceutical company engaged in a "nationwide scheme to distribute and sell an addictive and dangerous drug."

Based on your reading of the case, please assess the merits of your client's motion to dismiss the claims brought by the non-New York plaintiffs. Based on your reading of Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. v. Superior Court of California, 582 U.S. ___ (2017), what additional facts do you need to know to assess the merits of your client's motion?

To "assess the merits" means that you should provide a recommendation regarding you whether you believe based on your reading and research whether the motion to dismiss will succeed.

The point of this discussion board is to provide everyone with their first taste of legal analysis as this assignment asks you to read a case and then compare that case to a potential client matter. Then, you need to engage in some analysis to determine if more information is needed to determine the likelihood that the motion to dismiss will succeed.

Remember that these discussion boards are meant to be free flowing exchanges rather than written assignment so you shouldn't worry about precisely using Bluebook citation. However, please take a look at the following link that provides examples of various types of sources in The Bluebook citation format for your future use:

Citation