State ex rel. Stein v. E.I. DuPont de Nemours & Co.

Summary

The Court held that North Carolina may exercise personal jurisdiction over out-of-state corporate successors by imputing their predecessor's forum contacts and liabilities when the predecessor is subject to jurisdiction and North Carolina law permits successor liability. That rule applied because the successors expressly assumed PFAS-related liabilities and the State adequately alleged a fraudulent asset-transfer scheme. The Court affirmed denial of the Rule 12(b)(2) motion and remanded for further proceedings, declining to decide the alternative direct-jurisdiction theory.