Government Supports Ford’s Jurisdiction Challenge at High Court

Courts in Montana and Minnesota shouldn’t have allowed auto accident suits against Ford Motor Co. to proceed, the federal government told the U.S. Supreme Court in a brief supporting the automaker.

The vehicles blamed for the crashes were sold out of state, and Ford’s activities in Montana and Minnesota don’t have a close enough connection to the suit, the government said.

The focus should be on the defendant, according to the friend-of-the-court brief filed Friday. “The unilateral acts of another party or a third person generally are not an appropriate consideration—even if those unilateral acts give the forum State an ...