News Brief
Perez and Lee Secure Pre-Answer Motion to Dismiss for Baseball Bat Manufacturer
Raymond Perez (Partner-White Plains, NY) and Suna Lee (Of Counsel-Florham Park, NJ) obtained a pre-answer motion to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction in Passaic County, New Jersey, on behalf of a baseball bat manufacturer. The plaintiff sustained a traumatic brain injury when struck with a bat manufactured by the firm’s client and marketed and sold by the co-defendant sporting goods company in New Jersey. The manufacturer argued that it was not subject to the court’s jurisdiction because it had no contacts with New Jersey given that it transfers title to its bats in Asia and has no physical presence in New Jersey. Despite the lack of direct forum contacts, the plaintiffs argued that the court had personal jurisdiction over the manufacturer because it was aware that the bats were marketed and sold in New Jersey. Raymond and Suna argued that the plaintiffs could not rely on the stream of commerce theory nor the unilateral actions of the sporting goods company in New Jersey. There were no such contacts by the firm’s client directed to New Jersey and related to the action, let alone sufficient to give rise to an action.