Scott Dodson (University of California Hastings College of the Law) has posted California's View of 'Related to' Specific Jurisdiction (California Litigation Review, 2017) on SSRN. Here is the abstract:
Personal jurisdiction is a doctrine that describes the constitutional limits of a court’s adjudicatory authority over parties, especially parties located outside the state where the court sits. Under the famous Supreme Court case International Shoe Co. v. Washington, a state may assert personal jurisdiction over a nonresident defendant that has sufficient “minimum contacts” with the state when the contacts arise out of or are related to the cause of action. But what makes a contact “related to” the cause of action? The Supreme Court of California answered that question in Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. v. The Superior Court of San Francisco County on August 29, 2016. This short paper, geared toward California practitioners, analyzes Bristol-Myers Squibb.
Wow. Civ pro types should read this short, neutral, and illuminating piece–describing what is in my judgment (but not necessarily Dodson's) an astonishing theory.
