Mead Johnson & Company, LLC, et al. v. Clarissa Greear, Individually and on Behalf of Her Minor Child B. H., et al.

Petitioners manufacture critical life-saving nutrition products for preterm infants in neonatal intensive care units. The Respondents that are the subject of this Petition are 51 plaintiffs who reside in 22 different States. Although none of them resides in or was allegedly injured in Illinois, they are among thousands of plaintiffs from around the country who have filed claims in St. Clair and Madison Counties (adjacent counties in southwestern Illinois widely perceived to be plaintiff-friendly), alleging that Petitioners’ essential nutrition products are unreasonably dangerous and require a warning. Although Petitioners (companies incorporated and organized in Delaware) moved their principal place of business out of Illinois years before any of Respondents’ suits was filed, and although none of the plaintiffs or the claims at issue in this petition has any connection to Illinois, the state court held that it has general and specific jurisdiction over claims by these out-of-state plaintiffs against these out-of-state Petitioners, alleging out-of-state injuries. The questions presented are:

1. Whether the state court erred in asserting general jurisdiction over defendant companies for claims filed years after they removed their principal place of business from the State.

2. Whether the state court erred in asserting specific jurisdiction over out-of-state defendants where the State has no connection to any plaintiff or to any plaintiff’s alleged injury.