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Conflict of Laws Keyed to Brilmayer
G.D. Searle & Co. v. Cohn
Citation:
455 U.S. 404 (1982)Facts
Plaintiffs, Susan and Walter Cohns (the Cohns), were married when Susan suffered a stroke in 1963. In 1974, the Cohns brought suit against Defendant, G.D. Searle & Co. (Searle), in New Jersey state court, alleging that Susan’s stroke was caused by her use of an oral contraceptive manufactured by Searle.
Searle was served under New Jersey’s long-arm rule, and later removed the suit to federal court. Searle then moved for summary judgment based on New Jersey’s two-year statute of limitations for actions relating to an injury to a person caused by a wrongful act (“the New Jersey statute”). The New Jersey statute includes a tolling provision that tolls the statute of limitations for a cause of action against a foreign corporation that is not represented in New Jersey by any person or officer upon whom summons or other original process may be served.
The federal District Court held that Searle was not represented in New Jersey for the purposes of the tolling provision. That court found that the implementation of New Jersey’s long-arm rule meant that the pre-existing tolling provision no longer existed. As a result, the tolling provision was invalid under the Equal Protection Clause, and the two-year statute of limitations barred the Cohn’s suit. The Cohn’s appealed.
The Court of Appeals reversed the decision of the district court based upon a recent decision by the New Jersey Supreme Court, which held that the tolling provision continued in force even after the institution of long-arm jurisdiction in New Jersey. The U.S. Supreme Court granted Searle’s petition for certiorari.
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