Also known as: streams of interstate commerce · stream of commerce
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A doctrine used to determine whether goods remain subject to regulation or jurisdiction because they are part of the continuous flow of products moving across state lines. Purposeful targeting of the forum state is required for personal jurisdiction rather than mere awareness that products might reach it. The flow ends when goods come to a permanent rest within a state for local disposition.
Sterling Manufacturing, a Japanese parts maker, sold components to Sentinel Security, a Korean assembler, with knowledge that some units might reach California. When Sentinel sought indemnity in a California court after a local injury, the court found no purposeful targeting of the state. The severe burden on the foreign defendant and the forum's minimal interest made jurisdiction unreasonable.
Southland Foods, a Canadian manufacturer, distributed snack products through a national wholesaler without directing any advertising or sales efforts at Texas. A Texas resident was injured by a defective item and sued in Texas court. The court held that placement into the national market alone did not satisfy the requirement of purposeful targeting of Texas.
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Samuel Soto purchased live poultry in New York that had arrived from out of state and was held solely for local slaughter and sale. When federal regulators attempted to apply wage rules to the local processing, the court determined the interstate flow had ended. The poultry had reached a permanent rest within the state and was no longer part of any continuing movement.
Sylvia Santos grew marijuana plants in her California backyard solely for personal medical use under state law. Federal agents sought to enforce a nationwide ban, but the court noted that her activities placed no substantial quantity into the national market. The product never entered the stream moving across state lines.
Sebastian Santos, a Philadelphia waste hauler, attempted to transport solid waste generated in New Jersey into a New Jersey landfill. New Jersey enforced a statute closing its borders to out-of-state waste. The court held that the state could not isolate itself from the stream of interstate commerce by blocking a problem shared by neighboring states.
Sasha Stone was convicted under a federal statute for gender-motivated violence occurring entirely within one state. The government argued the violence affected interstate commerce through its aggregate economic impact. The court rejected the claim because the conduct was not part of any flow of goods or services moving across state lines.
No. Mere placement of a product into the stream of commerce, even with awareness it may reach the forum state, is not alone a clearly sufficient basis for personal jurisdiction.
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The manufacturer must target the forum state specifically, not just the United States market generally. Mere placement of goods in the stream of commerce without purposeful targeting of the forum is insufficient.
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The flow ends when the goods come to a permanent rest within a state and are held solely for local disposition and use, so that decisions dealing with a stream of interstate commerce no longer apply.
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…of the federal power; the exceptions prove the rule. Apart from them, proposals to carve islands of state authority out of the stream of commerce power were entirely unsuccessful. Roger Sherman's proposed definition of federal legislative power as excluding "matters of internal police" met Gouverneur Morris's response that "[t]he…