News & Events

On June 30, the Wisconsin Supreme Court issued a decision in favor of Simpson Thacher client Countrywide Home Loans, holding that Countrywide was not subject to personal jurisdiction in Wisconsin based on its compliance with the State's foreign business registration statutes. The Firm successfully petitioned the Supreme Court to accept a discretionary appeal from a Court of Appeals decision holding that registration to transact business constitutes consent to jurisdiction, an issue that has divided courts around the country. Reversing the Wisconsin Court of Appeals, the high Court, in a 25-page opinion, held that compliance with Wisconsin’s mandatory registration statutes does not constitute consent to general jurisdiction in Wisconsin. The Wisconsin Supreme Court reasoned that the text of the registration statute “does not even mention jurisdiction, much less consent” and refused Ambac’s invitation to “rewrite the statute.” The Wisconsin Supreme Court also specified that recent U.S. Supreme Court cases have limited the scope of jurisdiction and “strictly confine the exercise of general jurisdiction over foreign corporations within the bounds of due process.” Ambac first brought suit in Wisconsin in 2010, alleging fraudulent inducement in connection with five Countrywide-originated RMBS.

The Simpson Thacher team includes Joe McLaughlin (who argued the appeal), Shannon McGovern, Rachel Sparks Bradley, Sarah Sheridan and Rebecca Sussman.