On November 8, 2020, Walter Backman was driving home to New York City after a

vacation in New England. On his way through Connecticut, he remembered that he needed

to stop at a pharmacy to pick up more of his medication. Walter suffers from Sloan's disease,

a fairly rare congenital illness of the heart that limits the body's ability to control blood

pressure. Sloan's is very manageable, as long as patients watch their diet, take reasonable

amounts of exercise, and take their daily doses of Zoidilol, once in the morning, and once at

night. Walter had taken his last dose of Zoidilol that morning, and, concerned that he might

get home too late to get to his local drug store, he had asked his doctor to phone the

prescription to a pharmacy in New Haven, Connecticut, so that he could pick it up on the way

home.

The pick-up went without a hitch, and Walter completed his journey back to his

Manhattan apartment, took a dose of the newly-picked up prescription, and went to sleep.

However, when he awoke in the morning, all was not well. Walter was feeling ill, with

flu-like symptoms. When the symptoms persisted all day, he tested himself for COVID, and

was relieved to get a negative result. He figured he had a cold, and that it would go away in a

day or two. But it didn't. Through the rest of the month, he continued to have some

respiratory issues, and a general feeling of lethargy. "I guess it is a lingering case of the flu,"

he thought.

Finally, when it got to the end of November, without the symptoms ebbing, he made an

appointment with his doctor for December 15. It was not the flu. His doctor told Walter that

he was suffering from the effects of contaminated Zoidilol. Zoidilol is a compound of two

major ingredients - the active ingredient zoidolopharesis, and calcium. It appeared that, by

manufacturing error, each tablet of Zoidilol that he had picked up that day in New Haven

contained contaminated zoidolopharesis. The damage it had done, sadly, was permanent.

Zoidilol is manufactured by Mitchell Enterprises, a Connecticut corporation with its

principal place of business in New London, Connecticut. Mitchell buys all of the

zoidolopharesis used to manufacture the drug from Hernandez and Sons, Inc., a Texas

corporation, located in San Antonio. Mitchell sells the finished product to a distributor -

owned by the brother-in-law of Mitchell's CEO - also located in New London. The distributor

then sells the drug to pharmacies in the tri-state region of New York, New Jersey and

Connecticut. About 75% of those sales are to pharmacies located in New York. Both Mitchell

and Hernandez know that most of their product will end up in pharmacies in New York.

Mitchell advertises extensively throughout the tri-state area, and has become authorized to do

business under the laws of both New Jersey and New York.

As Backman continued to suffer from the effects of the tainted drug, friends began to

suggest that he should sue the manufacturers responsible for his illness. Finally, he

consulted a lawyer, and, on November 22, 2023, the lawyer commenced an action against

Mitchell and Hernandez in New York Supreme Court, New York County. The defendants

answered the complaint, each asserting a defense of lack of jurisdiction and statute of

limitations.

1) Both defendants have now moved for summary judgment dismissing the

complaint. As law clerk to the Justice assigned to the case, you have been

asked to draft an opinion deciding the motions, assessing the arguments raised

by all of the parties for and against the motions, and reaching a conclusion.

Please do so.

2) Mitchell's answer contained a cross-claim against Hernandez, seeking

indemnification, since Hernandez had manufactured the tainted zoidolopharesis.

While the summary judgment motions were pending, Mitchell settled with the

plaintiff. What effect will that have on its cross-claim against Hernandez for

indemnification?