Oklahoma has now joined many other states creating specialty business courts to handle complex business litigation. Senate Bill 632 creates two new specialized business courts, which will be located in Oklahoma County and Tulsa County. Oklahoma’s Governor, with the advice and consent of the Senate, is authorized to appoint a judge for an eight-year term for each location from a list of three candidates provided by the Speaker of the House.
Since the passage of Senate Bill 328, there has been a movement calling on Illinois Governor Pritzker to veto Senate Bill 328. Advocates for the veto include the American Tort Reform Association, the American Property Casualty Insurance Association, and the Illinois Manufacturers’ Association. Forty-seven House and Senate Republicans joined the call on June 17, 2025, by filing a lawsuit in Sangamon County, Illinois, Tony McCombie, et al vs. Emmanuel Chris Welch in his Capacity as Speaker of the Illinois House of Representatives and Don Harmon in his Capacity as President of the Illinois Senate, Case No. 2024MR000281 (Seventh Judicial Circuit Court, Sangamon County, 2025), challenging the constitutionality of the manner in which the legislation was passed.
Senate Bill 328, as amended, makes significant changes to the law governing jurisdiction in Illinois, which would change Illinois from a specific jurisdiction state to a general jurisdiction state for actions that allege injury or illness resulting from exposure to a toxic substance. Per the Uniform Hazardous Substances Act of Illinois, “toxic” is defined as “any substance (other than radioactive substance) which has the capacity to produce bodily injury or illness to man through ingestion, inhalation, or absorption through any body surface.” Senate Bill 328, with end of session amendments, passed both chambers as of June 1, 2025. Governor JB Pritzker is expected to sign the legislation into law.
We previously reported that the Illinois Supreme Court issued its long-awaited decision in Martin v. Goodrich Corp., upholding the constitutionality of a 2019 amendment to the Illinois Workers’ Occupational Diseases Act (the “Act”).1 Since then, the Seventh Circuit has recognized the Illinois Supreme Court’s ruling as an “unequivocal determination” of Illinois law and allowed a plaintiff’s tort claims to proceed as exempt from the Act’s exclusivity provisions.
On January 24, 2025, the Illinois Supreme Court issued its long-awaited decision in Martin v. Goodrich Corp., upholding the constitutionality of a 2019 amendment to the Illinois Workers’ Occupational Diseases Act (the “Act”).1 This decision confirms that Plaintiffs can indeed file civil claims after the 25-year statute of repose period for asbestos claims under Workers’ Compensation has expired. This decision will have a far-reaching impact throughout toxic tort litigation as it allows employees to pursue civil claims against their employers even if their Workers’ Compensation claim would otherwise be barred.
To exercise valid jurisdiction over any claim, a federal court must have both personal jurisdiction and subject matter jurisdiction. Subject matter jurisdiction can be based on diversity of citizenship, the presence of a federal question, or an issue that involves subject matter that only the federal court can decide. Separate and distinct from subject matter jurisdiction is the court’s inquiry into personal jurisdiction.
