Justices Reject Bridgestone Case

Bridgestone Corp., Asia’s largest tire maker, was denied a U.S. Supreme Court hearing in its bid to avoid being sued over a California accident that injured a man.

The Tokyo-based company sought to limit liability to its Firestone unit, based in Nashville. California courts rejected Bridgestone’s claim that as a foreign corporation it can’t be sued in the state because it doesn’t do business there.

Bridgestone in most cases has failed to persuade courts to keep it out of U.S. lawsuits claiming tire-related injuries or deaths.

The California suit involves a tire manufactured by Bridgestone in Japan and sold to Firestone, which sold it in the U.S.