Reference no: EM131768490

Question: The A & B Tobacco Co., a U.S.-based multinational company with its headquarters in Dallas, Texas, has manufactured and sold cigarettes in the United States for more then a century. For the past 25 years or so, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has required A & B to put warning labels on its cigarette packages that disclose the health risks involved in smoking. As a consequence of this and increasing concern for health in the United States, sales of A & B's cigarettes in the United States have declined sharply. To compensate for this, A & B began selling its cigarettes overseas, also about 25 years ago. Overseas sales have skyrocketed, especially in the developing state of Laissezfaireland. Laissezfaireland has no regulations concerning the sale of cigarettes, and A & B cigarettes sold in that country have never had health warning labels. Now 28,000 Laissezfaireans suffering from lung cancer caused by smoking A & B cigarettes have brought a class action suit in a United States court against A & B. They claim that by selling the cigarettes in Laissezfaireland without a health warning, A & B acted negligently. They also contend that the cigarettes are health hazards and that A & B is therefore strictly liable for the injuries they have suffered. Does the Texas court have jurisdiction to hear this case? Discuss.