Products Liability Law Reporter

A federal district court held that it lacked specific personal jurisdiction over a Swiss corporation named in a products liability suit involving a worker who died while using a die cutter.

Michael Montgomery was killed while trying to fix a jam in a Bobst Mastercut die cutter machine. His estate sued Bobst Mex SA, a Swiss corporation, and Bobst North America, a New Jersey corporation. The plaintiff also named Graphic Packaging International LLC, at whose production facility the incident occurred. Graphic Packaging removed the case to federal court, and Bobst Mex SA moved to dismiss for lack of jurisdiction. The court denied the motion and granted the plaintiff the opportunity to conduct jurisdictional discovery. Following jurisdictional discovery, Bobst Mex SA renewed its motion to dismiss.

Granting the motion, the district court found that the evidence regarding Bobst Mex SA’s contacts with Pennsylvania does not demonstrate purposeful availment or deliberate targeting justifying the exercise of personal jurisdiction. The court said that Graphic Packaging had ordered the die cutter from Bobst North America, which, in turn, ordered the machine from Bobst Mex SA. At no point during the sale did Bobst Mex SA communicate with anyone from Graphic Packaging, the court added, noting that Bobst North America personnel performed service and maintenance on the die cutter. The court concluded that Bobst Mex SA could not reasonably expect to be haled into court in Pennsylvania, given its lack of contact with the commonwealth.

Citation: Montgomery v. Bobst Mex SA, 2024 WL 5108437 (E.D. Pa. Dec. 13, 2024).