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Supreme Court · Decisions

Daimlerchrysler AG v. Bauman

The Court considered whether a U.S. court may exercise jurisdiction over a foreign company because its subsidiary acts for it in the forum state, and held that American courts lacked jurisdiction over claims based on conduct outside the United States.· AI-written

571 U.S. 117 · No. 11-965 · 2013 term · Roberts Court

Decided Jan 14, 2014 · argued Oct 15, 2013

Due process · Due process: jurisdiction

Landmark · Personal jurisdiction

Majority opinion: Ruth Ginsburg

The voteMajority

9–09 in the majority, 0 in dissent

No dissent (9–0)

Reversed. Daimlerchrysler AG won.

What this ruling means

Reversed: the Supreme Court overturned the decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit, and its own ruling ends the case.

Daimlerchrysler AG was the petitioner, the side that asked the Supreme Court to review the case. “Won” means the Court gave that side the result it asked for.

From the Supreme Court Database. A justice who agreed with the result but not the reasoning counts in the majority.

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Summary

The opening of the case’s Wikipedia article: what the case was about and what the Court held.

Daimler AG v. Bauman, 571 U.S. 117 (2014), is a United States Supreme Court case in which the Court answered whether an American court may exercise jurisdiction over a foreign company based on the fact that a subsidiary of the company acts on its behalf in the jurisdictional state. The court held that an American company cannot be sued for conduct occurring outside the United States and American courts do not have jurisdiction of such a claim.

Read the full article on Wikipedia

Data notes

The text is Wikipedia’s (CC BY-SA 4.0), matched to the case by its citation, docket number or name and year, and is not checked against the opinion. The site keeps the article’s opening section, ending on its last full sentence. The one-sentence summary under the title is the Decisions list’s: Wikipedia’s own ruling sentence, or, tagged “AI-written”, one Claude wrote from this opening.

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How the justices voted

Each justice who took part, placed by their Martin–Quinn ideology score for the 2013 term. Filled: the 9 in the majority. Hollow: the 0 in dissent. Colour is the party of the president who appointed them.

More liberalMore conservativeMedianSotomayorGinsburgKaganBreyerKennedyJ. RobertsScaliaAlitoThomas

Majority(9)

Dissent(0)

  • None.
Data notes

Each justice’s vote and what they wrote are from the justice-centered file of the Supreme Court Database. “Wrote a concurrence” means the justice sided with the majority and wrote separately; a justice who dissented in part is counted on the side they took overall. A justice who wrote nothing is listed as joining their side.

Positions are each justice’s Martin–Quinn score for the case’s term, the same scores as the Ideology page: negative is more liberal, positive more conservative. A score sums up a justice’s votes across the whole term, so it says where they usually sit, not why they voted as they did here. The median line is the Court’s median justice that term.

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The parties

Who brought the case to the Court, who answered it, and how it got there.

Petitioner
Daimlerchrysler AGAuto manufacturer
Respondent
BaumanForeign (non-American) nongovernmental entity
Reached the Court by
Certiorari (the Court chose to hear it)
Data notes

The names are the two sides of the case’s title. The description under each is the Supreme Court Database’s category for that party, in its own wording. The petitioner is the side that asked the Supreme Court to review the decision below. “Why it was taken” appears only when the majority opinion says lower courts disagreed or were unsure about the question; reasons that would fit any case (“to resolve the question presented”, “an important question”) are left out.

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The law at issue

The law the Court was asked to apply, and the kind of power it used to decide.

Provision
Fourteenth Amendment (due process)
Kind of law
Constitutional Amendment
Decided by
Judicial review (state level)
Data notes

The Supreme Court Database codes the main constitutional provision, statute or court rule each case turned on, and the basis of the decision: judicial review of a federal or state law, interpreting a statute, supervising the lower courts, and so on. A case can rest on more than one. “Overruled” counts only where the majority opinion says so.

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Timeline

What happened at the Court and how the case got there, newest first.

  1. Jan 14, 2014DecidedDecided · Decided 9–0: reversed. Daimlerchrysler AG won.
  2. Oct 15, 2013ArguedArgued · Oral argument before the Court.
  3. Not datedTaken upTaken up · The Supreme Court agreed to hear the case (certiorari).
  4. Not datedCourt belowCourt below · Decided by the U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit: petition denied or appeal dismissed, with a dissent.
  5. Not datedBeganBegan · The case began in the California Northern U.S. District Court.
Data notes

From the Supreme Court Database: the court the case began in, the court whose decision the Supreme Court reviewed and what that court did, how the case came to the Court, and the dates of argument and decision. The database does not date the steps in the lower courts. Court names are the database’s.

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Other decisions on the same issue

34 other argued cases since 1946 on due process: jurisdiction, newest first.

  1. Fuld v. Palestine Liberation Organization145 S. Ct. 2090Jun 20, 2025 · 145 S. Ct. 2090Due process9–0Unanimous band

  2. Ford Motor Company v. Montana Eighth Judicial District CourtLandmark · Personal jurisdiction141 S. Ct. 1017Mar 25, 2021 · 141 S. Ct. 1017Due process8–0Unanimous band

  3. Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. v. Superior Court of Ca.Landmark · Personal jurisdiction137 S. Ct. 1773Jun 19, 2017 · 137 S. Ct. 1773Due process8–18–1 band

  4. BNSF Railway Co. v. Tyrrell137 S. Ct. 1549May 30, 2017 · 137 S. Ct. 1549Due process8–18–1 band

  5. Walden v. Fiore571 U.S. 277Feb 25, 2014 · 571 U.S. 277Due process9–0Unanimous band

  6. J. McIntyre Machinery, Ltd., Petitioner v. Robert Nicastro, Individually and As Administrator of the Estate of Roseanne Nicastro564 U.S. 873Jun 27, 2011 · 564 U.S. 873Due process6–36–3 band

  7. Goodyear Dunlop Tires Operations, S.A., et al., Petitioners v. Edgar D. Brown, et ux., Co-Administrators of the Estate of Julian David Brown, et al.564 U.S. 915Jun 27, 2011 · 564 U.S. 915Due process9–0Unanimous band

  8. Reynoldsville Casket Co., et al. v. Carol L. Hyde514 U.S. 749May 15, 1995 · 514 U.S. 749Due process9–0Unanimous band
  9. Burnham v. Superior Court of California, County of Marin (Burnham, Real Party in Interest)495 U.S. 604May 29, 1990 · 495 U.S. 604Due process9–0Unanimous band

  10. Bendix Autolite Corp. v. Midwesco Enterprises, Inc., et al.486 U.S. 888Jun 17, 1988 · 486 U.S. 888Due process8–18–1 band
  11. Sun Oil Co. v. Wortman et al.486 U.S. 717Jun 15, 1988 · 486 U.S. 717Due process6–27–2 band
  12. Volkswagenwerk Aktiengesellschaft v. Schlunk, Administrator of the Estates of Schlunk et al.486 U.S. 694Jun 15, 1988 · 486 U.S. 694Due process9–0Unanimous band
  13. Omni Capital International, Ltd., et al. v. Rudolf Wolff & Co., Ltd., et al.484 U.S. 97Dec 8, 1987 · 484 U.S. 97Due process8–0Unanimous band
  14. Asahi Metal Industry Co., Ltd. v. Superior Court of California, Solano County (Cheng Shin Rubber Industrial Co., Ltd., Real Party in Interest)480 U.S. 102Feb 24, 1987 · 480 U.S. 102Due process9–0Unanimous band
  15. Phillips Petroleum Co. v. Shutts et al.472 U.S. 797Jun 26, 1985 · 472 U.S. 797Due process8–0Unanimous band
  16. Burger King Corp. v. Rudzewicz471 U.S. 462May 20, 1985 · 471 U.S. 462Due process6–27–2 band
  17. Helicopteros Nacionales de Colombia, S. A. v. Hall et al.466 U.S. 408Apr 24, 1984 · 466 U.S. 408Due process8–18–1 band

  18. Calder et al. v. Jones465 U.S. 783Mar 20, 1984 · 465 U.S. 783Due process9–0Unanimous band

  19. Keeton v. Hustler Magazine, Inc., et al.465 U.S. 770Mar 20, 1984 · 465 U.S. 770Due process9–0Unanimous band

  20. Insurance Corporation of Ireland, Ltd., et al. v. Compagnie Des Bauxites de Guinee456 U.S. 694Jun 1, 1982 · 456 U.S. 694Due process9–0Unanimous band
  21. Allstate Insurance Co. v. Hague, Personal Representative of Hague's Estate449 U.S. 302Jan 13, 1981 · 449 U.S. 302Due process5–36–3 band
  22. Rush et al. v. Savchuk444 U.S. 320Jan 21, 1980 · 444 U.S. 320Due process7–27–2 band
  23. World-Wide Volkswagen Corp. et al. v. Woodson, District Judge of Creek County, Oklahoma, et al.Landmark · Personal jurisdiction444 U.S. 286Jan 21, 1980 · 444 U.S. 286Due process6–36–3 band
  24. Kulko v. Superior Court of California in and for the City and County of San Francisco (Horn, Real Party in Interest)436 U.S. 84May 15, 1978 · 436 U.S. 84Due process6–36–3 band

  25. Shaffer et al. v. Heitner433 U.S. 186Jun 24, 1977 · 433 U.S. 186Due process7–18–1 band

  26. Western Union Telegraph Co. v. Pennsylvania368 U.S. 71Dec 4, 1961 · 368 U.S. 71Due process9–0Unanimous band
  27. Hanson, Executrix, et al. v. Denckla et al.357 U.S. 235Jun 23, 1958 · 357 U.S. 235Due process5–45–4 band
  28. McGee v. International Life Insurance Co.355 U.S. 220Dec 16, 1957 · 355 U.S. 220Due process8–0Unanimous band

  29. Vanderbilt v. Vanderbilt et al.354 U.S. 416Jun 24, 1957 · 354 U.S. 416Due process6–27–2 band
  30. May v. Anderson345 U.S. 528May 18, 1953 · 345 U.S. 528Due process5–36–3 band
  31. Perkins v. Benguet Consolidated Mining Co. et al.342 U.S. 437Mar 3, 1952 · 342 U.S. 437Due process7–27–2 band

  32. Travelers Health Association et al. v. Virginia ex rel. State Corporation Commission339 U.S. 643Jun 5, 1950 · 339 U.S. 643Due process5–45–4 band
  33. Coe v. Coe334 U.S. 378Jun 7, 1948 · 334 U.S. 378Due process7–27–2 band
  34. Sherrer v. Sherrer334 U.S. 343Jun 7, 1948 · 334 U.S. 343Due process7–27–2 band

Data notes

Every other orally argued case with a clear vote, from the 1946 term on, that the Supreme Court Database files under the same issue as this one. The database gives each case one issue from a list of about 270 (abortion, search and seizure of vehicles, the death penalty, and so on), whatever law it turned on.

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Official record

Read the full opinion on Justia, the argument audio on Oyez and Wikipedia. Case data from the Supreme Court Database, Version 2026 Release 01, through the 2025 term.