State Registration Law Feared by Business Upheld by Justices

Kevin King’s commentary was included in a Bloomberg Law article on the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision, Mallory v. Norfolk S. Railway Co., which upheld a Pennsylvania state law that says companies registered in Pennsylvania can be sued in its state courts, regardless of what ties, if any, the specific claim has to the state.

Reflecting on the breakdown and implications of the opinion, Kevin said, “It’s 4-1-4 decision with Justice Alito in the middle. He gives the fifth vote to reverse, or more accurately vacate the Pennsylvania Supreme Court’s decision, so Mallory prevails at least for now. But Justice Alito, while ruling in Mallory’s favor in this case, holds out the possibility that Norfolk Southern could prevail on remand on a commerce clause theory that the other justices largely do not address.”