Facts: -Feathers were seriously injured when a truck-driven propane tank exploded on a public highway near their home in New York.

- Feathers sued the manufacturers of a propane tank in a New York trial court on negligence and breach of warranties.

Procedure: Feathers sued the manufacturers of a propane tank in a New York trial court on negligence and breach of warranties. Manufacturer moved to dismiss on grounds that it never did any business there. Trial court granted the motion. The Appellate Division reversed on the ground that the manufacturer had the "knowledge" the tank was designed for a Pennsylvania trucking company, could foresee its use in New York, and therefore had minimum contact with that state.

Issue: Did the New York courts have jurisdiction as stated by their statute over a trucking company that operated out of Kansas City, Kansas?

Rule: Statues determining jurisdiction cannot be interpreted much more broadly than they were intended (or written).

Holding: The interpretation accorded the statute by the Illinois courts disregards its plain language and exceeds the bounds of sound statutory construction. Therefore the New York courts did not have jurisdiction.

Rationale: The language of the statute "A court may exercise personal jurisdiction over any nondomiciliary … if, in person or through an agent, he … commits a tortious act within the state …" is not broad enough to cover "committing a tortious act without the state which causes injury within the state."

Policy/Notes: After this case the New York legislature took the hint and amended the New York long-arm statute to include cases such as this: added: "commits tortious acts without the state…"

Follow up case: Markham v Anderson, 531 F.2d, (1976) p 61. A truck driver, a diabetic, who was licensed and certified to drive a truck in Pennsylvania was examined and found to be qualified by Dr. Anderson. Later the driver was driving through New York and because of insulin deprivation he lapsed into semi-consciousness and struck a toll both injuring the occupant. Occupant sued Dr. Anderson in New York for negligence. Court held New York did not have jurisdiction as Dr. Anderson never did regular or continuous business in New York and did not result in his deriving "substantial" revenue from interstate commerce.