The Ninth Circuit reversed the District Court's judgment and the panel's decision, finding that the District Court had specific personal jurisdiction over Shopify.
On April 21, 2025, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, sitting en banc, issued an opinion in Briskin v. Shopify,'F.4th', 2025 WL 1154075 (9th Cir. Apr. 21, 2025), which could significantly increase the number of jurisdictions in which e-commerce companies can be sued, even when the company's globally or nationally accessible website does not have a forum-specific focus.
Background
Plaintiff Brandon Briskin is a California resident who used his iPhone's browser to purchase athletic wear from an online storefront, IAB MFG. He alleges that during the checkout process, the online platform required him to submit personal identifying information, including his name, address, phone number and credit card. Allegedly believing that the storefront generated the payment form over a secure connection, he submitted the personal identifying information, unaware that, by doing so, he was submitting his private data not only to IAB MFG but also to Shopify. Briskin additionally alleges that, although he never viewed the relevant "Privacy Policy," had he done so, the policy would not have mentioned Shopify, "an e-commerce platform that facilitates online sales for merchants," and that Shopify had installed "cookies" on his mobile device when he first viewed an item for purchase. These cookies allegedly tracked and stored Briskin's personal information, including his geolocation data, the identity of his browser, his IP address, his payment information and the location where the transaction was completed. Briskin alleges that Shopify then shared his private data with third parties without disclosure.
Briskin's putative class action complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, alleges that Shopify's conduct violated data privacy and access laws and constituted unfair deceptive practices. The District Court, however, dismissed the case on the ground that it lacked specific personal jurisdiction over Shopify (Briskin had not asserted general personal jurisdiction).
On appeal, a three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit affirmed the District Court's ruling. The panel found that Shopify, in operating a nationwide platform, did not "expressly aim [its] suit-related conduct at [California]." The panel held that:
When a company operates a nationally available...
