Whole Foods to D.C. Cir.: BMS Applies to Federal Class Actions

If Whole Foods Market Group Inc. employees wanted to bring a multistate class action against their employer, they should have done it where Whole Foods is subject to general jurisdiction, the grocery retailer told the D.C. Circuit May 10.

The U.S. Supreme Court’s 2017 decision in Bristol-Myers Squibb v. Superior Ct. of Cal. “made clear that each plaintiff, no matter how similarly situated, must independently establish personal jurisdiction over his or her claim,” the company argues in its reply brief.

The employees argue that BMS involved mass tort claims in state court and therefore doesn’t apply to their federal class ...