Expanded protection for defendants on rise in location of litigation

For the Defense

By Donald P. Eckler

Donald “Pat” Eckler is a partner at Pretzel & Stouffer focusing on professional liability defense, insurance coverage litigation, and general tort defense. He is the legislative chair of the Illinois Association of Defense Trial Counsel. His views are his own and not those of his firm or its clients.

Posted November 4, 2020 11:12 AM

Location, location, location is not just a mantra applicable to real estate. Whether personal jurisdiction, venue, or forum non conveniens, in civil litigation the proper location for the litigation is a fundamental right of defendants, the protection of which has been expanding recently, and may yet expand more in both Illinois state and federal court.Beginning with the unanimous decisions in Goodyear Dunlop Tires Operations, S.A. v. Brown, 564 US (2011), Walden v. Fiore, 571 US 277 (2014), and Daimler AG v. Bauman, 571 …

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