Justices Weigh State Jurisdiction Limits in Business Cases (1)

A majority of US Supreme Court justices seemed skeptical that companies can be forced to face litigants in states where they aren’t based simply as a condition of doing business there.

Pennsylvania law gives its state courts this kind of general jurisdiction over disputes that have no connection to the state when companies headquartered elsewhere register to operate in the commonwealth. The justices at argument on Tuesday weighed whether that regime is constitutional in a case against Norfolk Southern Railway Co. that could make it much easier to sue corporations for alleged wrongdoing.

Justice Elena Kagan questioned whether a company ...