this post was submitted on 28 Nov 2023
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I don’t see any problem with removig car dealers. Just phase out of existence no one will miss them.
Civil liability. You cannot sue in state court without personal jurisdiction over the maker, you know, in case they make a car with a fuel tank that explodes everytime you tap the fender or something. However, if they have a physical business footprint in the state, it's fair to sue them there.
It would be the end of auto recalls, and soon after the end of auto safety in general, because the makers would force their cases into whatever singular federal court that they pick and just whittle away the law of product liability one case at a time, sort of like how Republicans file all their challenges to federal immigration laws in Brownsville, Texas. Elon Musk would love that.
E: I see we're just downvoting things we don't understand this morning because we don't like car dealers. That's discouraging. I'm encouraged by a 2021 Supreme Court case, Ford Motor Co. v. Montana that seems to have returned some sanity to personal jurisdiction in product liability cases. Still, a physical presence in the forum state, even if it's by an independent dealership (not a requirement in all states)--which stands in the shoes of the maker due to its equitable and contractual privity--is the lodestar of personal jurisdiction. Without strong long-arm jurisdiction, regular people are further doomed to the recklessness and wilfull disregard by which manufacturers will sell products in order to maximize profit.
Can’t this be solved by updating requirements to allow vehicle sales?
Jurisdiction and service are part of due process, and come from the Constitution.
Yeah, there's probably a way.