In 1992, the Supreme Court set a precedent -- Quill Corporation vs. North Dakota -- that unintentionally shaped the future of commerce.
The case was started when North Dakota sued Quill, a mail-order office equipment retailer, for unpaid North Dakota sales tax on orders shipped to customers in the state. The Supreme Court, citing a 1967 case as precedent, ruled Quill’s mail order sales were exempt from collecting sales taxes because the retailer had no "physical presence" in North Dakota.
