Insights

Can a state court, consistent with the Due Process Clause, compel a foreign corporation seeking to do business in the state to consent to general (“all-purpose”) personal jurisdiction?  Until its decision this week in Mallory v. Norfolk Southern Railway Co.,[1] the majority of courts forecast that the Supreme Court would answer that question with a resounding “no.”  Instead, five Justices in Mallory agreed that Pennsylvania’s business registration statute, which requires foreign corporations to consent to the state’s personal jurisdiction over “any cause of action” brought against them in state court, did not violate the Due Process Clause.[2] The decision is sure to encourage forum shopping and perhaps lead other states to adopt similar “consent-by-registration” statutes.

On March 30, 2023, the FDA authorized marketing of Happiest Baby’s SNOO Smart Sleeper, an over-the-counter infant sleep system intended to keep infants on their back throughout sleep. This marks the first time we are aware of that the FDA has given de novo marketing authorization to a product designed to keep sleeping babies positioned on their backs,[1] and signals a potential expansion of what the FDA considers to be a “medical device” within its regulatory purview.