Gurbir S. Grewal, Attorney General of New Jersey v. Defense Distributed, et al.

A court may exercise specific personal jurisdiction over a nonresident defendant only where the defendant “purposefully avails itself of the privilege of conducting activities within the forum State, thus invoking the benefits and protections of its laws.” Burger King Corp. v. Rudzewicz, 471 U.S. 462, 475 (1985). In Walden v. Fiore, 571 U.S. 277 (2014), this Court held that personal jurisdiction thus cannot be based solely on the fact that the plaintiff experienced injury in the forum State. Rather, defendant’s own conduct must connect him to the forum State itself. The question presented is: Whether a nonresident state official subjects itself to personal jurisdiction in another forum State when it sends a single cease-and-desist letter to a single resident in that State.