Supreme Court Issues Delaware A Reprieve Pennsylvania Railroad Case

Last November, I questioned whether the Supreme Court's decision in Mallory v. Norfolk Southern Railway Co. would endanger Delaware's corporate hegemony.  The issue in that case was the constitutionality of Pennsylvania's deemed consent statute with respect to foreign corporations that register to transact intrastate business.  Yesterday, the Supreme Court in a 5-4 decision held that the Pennsylvania statute did not offend the Due Process clause of the United States Constitution.   Had the Supreme Court decided the other way, then Delaware's deemed consent statute, Tit. 10, § 3114, might have found itself in constitutional jeopardy. 

As it is, the Supreme Court's ruling is likely to lead to increases in foreign shopping by plaintiffs and  state legislation that requires or deems consent to state jurisdiction.