Pa. High Court Says State Jurisdiction Existed in Ethicon Pelvic Mesh Action

PHILADELPHIA — The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has upheld an intermediate court’s refusal to vacate a $12.9 million judgment against Ethicon Inc. and Johnson & Johnson in a Prolift transvaginal mesh case, finding the trial court had jurisdiction over the defendants due to their significant ties to the commonwealth.

In an Oct. 21 opinion, the court majority concluded that the imposition of personal jurisdiction in the action meets the relevant and statutory requirements. The majority held that jurisdiction should not be restricted by focusing narrowly upon the elements of a plaintiff’s specific legal claims; rather, the court looked “more broadly to …