In a victory for the pharmaceutical industry, the U.S. Supreme Court limited the right for people from anywhere in the country to file product-liability lawsuits against drug makers in California and several other states where courts are seen as more hospitable to consumers.
The ruling came in response to a debate over jurisdiction, which can be used to determine where a lawsuit may be filed. Last year, the California Supreme Court clarified the extent to which Bristol-Myers Squibb needed to have a presence in California in order to be sued by hundreds of people from Texas, Ohio, and 33 other states, who claim they were harmed by its Plavix blood thinner.
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