In a case decided last year (while this case was still making its way through the lower courts), the Supreme Court shut down most attempts to use U.S. courts to remedy human rights abuses overseas. So the Court had an easy way to get rid of this case on that ground. What is significant is that, instead of taking that route, the Court reached out to decide this case on a much broader ground, one that will apply to any attempt to sue an American or foreign corporation outside its home state or country.
What is even more significant is that the decision was almost unanimous. (Ginsburg, usually considered a "liberal," wrote the decision; no one dissented; only Sotomayor didn't join Ginsburg's opinion, but even she would have reversed, albeit on much narrower grounds.)
That’s interesting because a corporation could place its headquarters in a very difficult jurisdiction for lawsuits, one that had a high hurdle and limitations on penalties for a plaintiff and strong protections and bars for a defendant. I wonder what the Justices were thinking. Have you read their decision?
We don’t want frivolous lawsuits, but we do want lawsuits with a firm foundation to go forward. I wonder if they shut the door too hard on this one. They are, after all, just human.