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International Shoe Co. v. Washington

United States Supreme Court
326 U.S 310, 66 S.Ct. 154, 90 L.Ed. 95, 161 A.L.R. 1057 (1945)

Written by DeAnna Swearingen, LLM

Facts

International Shoe Co. (defendant) was incorporated in Delaware and had its headquarters in Missouri. From 1937 to 1940, International Shoe employed 11 to 13 salesmen who lived and worked in Washington state (plaintiff). The company had no permanent facilities in Washington. The salesmen met with customers in rented and public spaces and sent any orders to Missouri to be fulfilled by mail. Washington claimed that International Shoe was employing people in the state and therefore owed unemployment-tax payments for those employees. Washington sent notice of this tax debt to the company’s Missouri offices by registered mail and served a notice personally on an in-state salesman. International Shoe made a special appearance to contest the taxation. The company argued that it was not legally present in Washington, so the state lacked authority to tax it or exercise personal jurisdiction over it. Washington’s tax officials and superior court affirmed the tax order. The state supreme court also upheld the tax, holding that International Shoe’s ongoing sales pitches and actual sales in the state meant (1) the company was doing business in the state and (2) this business activity satisfied any due-process concerns and allowed Washington to exercise tax and judicial authority over the otherwise out-of-state company. International Shoe appealed to the United States Supreme Court.

Rule of Law

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Issue

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Holding and Reasoning (Stone, C.J.)

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Concurrence (Black, J.)

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