Amiodarone Makers’ Agreements with In-State Distributor Do Not Create Jurisdiction, Calif. Judge Rules

OAKLAND, Calif. — The California judge overseeing the state coordinated amiodarone docket has granted a motion by out-of-state manufacturers to quash plaintiffs’ service of summonses, ruling that the drug makers lacked the requisite contacts with the state to establish specific personal jurisdiction.

In an order filed Jan. 14, Judge Brad Seligman of the Alameda County (Calif.) Superior Court rejected the plaintiffs’ argument that the defendants’ supply agreements with a California drug distributor created the requisite contacts. The judge referred to Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. v. Superior Court of California, San Francisco Cty., which he noted specifically rejected such an argument.

On …