Good, Better & Best (GBB) is the name used by several firms of business consultants located in many different countries, including countries in Western Europe, North America, South America, and the Orient. Depending on local laws, the firms are organized either as partnerships or as limited liability stock companies. The senior partners or presidents of the several firms meet on a regular basis to coordinate worldwide advertising and standardize the policies and practices of the several firms. The firms exchange information, and they share employees as the need may arise. Multinational clients are assured that they will be served by the local GBB firm in any country where the client does business.

One of the GBB firms in Country X (GBB-X) provided marketing information to Local Company. The information had been negligently prepared by GBB-X, and it contained gross errors. Relying on that information, Local made several disastrous investments, and it lost most of its net worth. Local wants to sue GBB-X, but it knows that GBB-X has few assets. Will Local be successful if it asks the court in which it is suing the GBB-X firm to join others of the GBB firms as codefendants? Would the choice of the court in which GBB brings its suit be important in deciding this? Discuss.