Affiliated FM Ins. Co. v. Kuehne + Nagel, Inc.

328 F. Supp. 3d 329
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. Illinois
DecidedJuly 16, 2018
Docket17-CV-336 (JPO)
StatusPublished
Cited by25 cases

This text of 328 F. Supp. 3d 329 (Affiliated FM Ins. Co. v. Kuehne + Nagel, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. Illinois primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Affiliated FM Ins. Co. v. Kuehne + Nagel, Inc., 328 F. Supp. 3d 329 (S.D. Ill. 2018).

Opinion

J. PAUL OETKEN, District Judge:

*332In November 2015, a container of audio equipment left Tokyo, Japan, bound for Memphis, Tennessee. The container crossed the ocean and arrived in Los Angeles, California without incident. But the equipment suffered damage during its transcontinental journey, when the train carrying the container derailed in southwestern Missouri. The cargo owners and their insurer sued the shipper, and the shipper then sued the subcontractors responsible for the container's overland transportation.

The subcontractors move to dismiss the Amended Third-Party Complaint (the "Complaint") for, among other reasons, lack of personal jurisdiction. For the reasons that follow, the motion is granted.

I. Background

The following facts are taken from the Complaint and are assumed true for purposes of this motion.

As is common in intermodal, intercontinental shipping, this case involves a series of contracts and subcontracts. The foundational document is Sea Waybill number BANQTY02217950 (the "Sea Waybill"), issued by Kuehne + Nagel, Inc. ("K+N") to American Music and Sound, LLC for the transportation of a container of audio equipment from Tokyo, Japan to Memphis, Tennessee, via the Port of Los Angeles, California. (Dkt. No. 46 ("Compl.") ¶ 17; Dkt. No. 49-2 at 7.) After issuing this bill of lading, K+N then subcontracted AZ/CFS West, Inc. ("AZ") to provide "transportation logistics services" for the overland leg of the ship's journey. (Compl. ¶¶ 11, 24.) AZ, in turn, arranged for rail transportation by BNSF Railway Company ("BNSF"). (Compl. ¶¶ 4, 24.)

The cargo container departed Tokyo aboard the vessel Mol Experience in November 2015. (Compl. ¶ 17; Dkt. No. 49-2 at 7.) After safely arriving in Los Angeles, the container was transferred to a train bound for Memphis. (Compl. ¶¶ 17-18, 22.) But the train encountered flooding along Shoal Creek in Newton County, Missouri, causing the train to derail. (Compl. ¶ 22.) American Music and Sound, LLC and its insurer Affiliated FM Insurance Company (collectively, "Plaintiffs") allege that the audio equipment suffered both water and crushing damage as a result. (Compl. ¶ 17.)

Invoking federal maritime jurisdiction, Plaintiffs filed suit against K+N and the Mol Experience in January 2017 (Dkt. No. 1), and K+N, in turn, filed a third-party complaint against AZ and BNSF (collectively, "Third-Party Defendants"). (Dkt. No. 26.) K+N asserts claims for breach of contract, negligence, and indemnification against Third-Party Defendants. (Compl. ¶¶ 28-40.) K+N also has made a tender pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 14(c), alleging that Third-Party Defendants are liable to K+N for some or all of its liability to Plaintiffs or, alternatively, that they are liable to Plaintiffs directly. (Compl. ¶¶ 41-42.) Third-Party Defendants move to dismiss on a variety of grounds, including for lack of personal jurisdiction pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(2).

II. Legal Standard

"[T]he plaintiff bears the burden of establishing personal jurisdiction over the defendant." MacDermid, Inc. v. Deiter , 702 F.3d 725, 727 (2d Cir. 2012) (quoting *333Seetransport Wiking Trader Schiffarhtsgesellschaft MBH & Co., Kommanditgesellschaft v. Navimpex Centrala Navala , 989 F.2d 572, 580 (2d Cir. 1993) ). "Where, as here, a district court in adjudicating a [ Rule 12(b)(2) ] motion ... 'relies on the pleadings and affidavits, and chooses not to conduct a full-blown evidentiary hearing, plaintiffs need only make a prima facie showing of personal jurisdiction.' " S. New England Tel. Co. v. Glob. NAPs Inc. , 624 F.3d 123, 138 (2d Cir. 2010) (quoting Porina v. Marward Shipping Co. , 521 F.3d 122, 126 (2d Cir. 2008) ).

In evaluating a Rule 12(b)(2) motion, a court must "construe the pleadings and affidavits in the light most favorable to plaintiffs, resolving all doubts in their favor." Porina , 521 F.3d at 126. "Nevertheless, [the plaintiff] must make allegations establishing jurisdiction with some 'factual specificity' and cannot establish jurisdiction through conclusory assertions alone." Cont'l Indus. Grp., Inc. v. Equate Petrochemical Co. , 586 F. App'x 768, 769 (2d Cir. 2014) (quoting Jazini v. Nissan Motor Co. , 148 F.3d 181, 185 (2d Cir. 1998) ).

"Personal jurisdiction of a federal court over a non-resident defendant is governed by the law of the state in which the court sits-subject, of course, to certain constitutional limitations of due process." Kronisch v. United States , 150 F.3d 112, 130 (2d Cir. 1998) (quoting Robinson v. Overseas Military Sales Corp. , 21 F.3d 502, 510 (2d Cir. 1994) ). "In assessing whether personal jurisdiction is authorized, 'the court must look first to the long-arm statute of the forum state, in this instance New York.' " Whitaker v. Am. Telecasting, Inc. , 261 F.3d 196, 208 (2d Cir. 2001) (quoting Bensusan Rest. Corp. v. King , 126 F.3d 25, 27 (2d Cir. 1997) ). "If, but only if, [the] answer is in the affirmative, [the court] must then determine whether asserting jurisdiction under that provision would be compatible with requirements of due process established under the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution." Best Van Lines, Inc. v. Walker , 490 F.3d 239, 242 (2d Cir. 2007).

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Bluebook (online)
328 F. Supp. 3d 329, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/affiliated-fm-ins-co-v-kuehne-nagel-inc-ilsd-2018.