International Shoe Co. v. Washington

International Shoe Co. v. Washington
Argued November 14, 1945
Decided December 3, 1945
Full case nameInternational Shoe Company v. State of Washington, Office of Unemployment Compensation & Placement, et al.
Citations326 U.S. 310 (more)
66 S. Ct. 154; 90 L. Ed. 95; 1945 U.S. LEXIS 1447; 161 A.L.R. 1057
Case history
PriorSpecial appearance by appellant in Washington state court as defendant in lower court; appellant moved to set aside order on grounds of lack of personal jurisdiction; tribunal denied motion; state Superior Court affirmed; state Supreme Court affirmed
Holding
Suit cannot be brought against an individual unless they have minimum contacts with the forum state, and such lawsuit does not offend traditional notions of fair play and substantial justice.
Court membership
Chief Justice
Harlan F. Stone
Associate Justices
Hugo Black · Stanley F. Reed
Felix Frankfurter · William O. Douglas
Frank Murphy · Robert H. Jackson
Wiley B. Rutledge · Harold H. Burton
Case opinions
MajorityStone, joined by Reed, Frankfurter, Douglas, Murphy, Rutledge, Burton
ConcurrenceBlack
Jackson took no part in the consideration or decision of the case.
Laws applied
U.S. Const. Amendment XIV; 26 U.S.C. § 1606; Washington Unemployment Compensation Act

International Shoe Co. v. Washington, 326 U.S. 310 (1945), was a landmark decision of the Supreme Court of the United States in which the Court held that a party, particularly a corporation, may be subject to the jurisdiction of a state court if it has "minimum contacts" with that state.[1] The ruling has important consequences for corporations involved in interstate commerce, their payments to state unemployment compensation funds, limits on the power of states imposed by the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, the sufficiency of service of process, and, especially, personal jurisdiction.

  1. ^ International Shoe v. Washington, 326 U.S. 310 (1945).