Which case set the precedent for the "minimum contacts" standard?

The "minimum contacts" standard was established in the case of International Shoe Co. v. Washington. This landmark decision is pivotal in personal jurisdiction law because it defined the criteria required for a state to exert personal jurisdiction over an out-of-state defendant. The Supreme Court held that a court could exercise personal jurisdiction when the defendant has sufficient contacts or connections to the forum state, such that maintaining the lawsuit does not offend "traditional notions of fair play and substantial justice."

In International Shoe, the court emphasized that jurisdiction should relate to the defendant's purposeful activities directed at the state, highlighting the need for a connection between the defendant and the state in which the lawsuit is being brought. This concept laid the foundational framework for assessing whether a court has jurisdiction based on the defendant's interactions and engagements with the state’s market or citizens.

While other cases, such as McGee v. International Life Insurance Co. and World-Wide Volkswagen Corp. v. Woodson, further developed and applied the minimum contacts analysis, International Shoe is the seminal case that introduced this standard.