Aluminal Industries, Inc. v. Newtown Commercial Associates

89 F.R.D. 326, 1980 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 15166
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. New York
DecidedNovember 18, 1980
DocketNo. 80 Civ. 1118
StatusPublished
Cited by16 cases

This text of 89 F.R.D. 326 (Aluminal Industries, Inc. v. Newtown Commercial Associates) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. New York primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Aluminal Industries, Inc. v. Newtown Commercial Associates, 89 F.R.D. 326, 1980 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 15166 (S.D.N.Y. 1980).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

LOWE, District Judge.

This is an action to recover for property damage allegedly sustained by plaintiffs as a result of defendants negligence in defectively installing a sprinkler system on plaintiffs’ premises, a building located in Connecticut.1 The Court’s jurisdiction is based on diversity of citizenship between the parties, 28 U.S.C. § 1332. Plaintiffs are residents of Connecticut; defendant Tinsky, the sole managing partner of defendant Newtown, resides in Florida; defendant Newtown is a limited partnership organized under the laws of New Jersey, with the principal place of business in Florida.

Defendants Newtown and Tinsky have moved, pursuant to Rule 12(b)(2) and (b)(3) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (“Fed.R.Civ.P.”), to dismiss the complaint as against them for lack of personal jurisdiction and improper venue, or, in the alternative, to transfer the action, pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1406(a) and § 1404(a), tó the United States District Court for the District of Connecticut.2

Plaintiffs oppose defendants’ motion and contend that the Court has in personam jurisdiction over said defendants because (1) said defendants were personally served with process out-of-state in accordance with the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and (2) subsequent to the out-of-state service, said defendants were again personally served with process in-state.

I. Court’s Findings

A. Service of Process

Plaintiffs personally served defendants in Florida. New York law determines whether a federal court has jurisdiction over non-domiciliaries where federal jurisdiction is founded solely on diversity of citizenship. Arrowsmith v. United Press International, 320 F.2d 219, 223 (2d Cir. 1963). New York’s long arm statute, CPLR § 302, sets forth the following criteria for in personam jurisdiction,

“(a) Acts which are the basis of jurisdiction. As to a cause of action arising from, any of the acts enumerated in this section, a court may exercise personal jurisdiction over any non-domiciliary, or his executor or administrator, who in person or through an agent:
1. transacts any business within the state or contracts anywhere to supply goods or services in the state; or
2. commits a tortious act within the state, except as to a cause of action for defamation of character arising from the act; or
3. commits a tortious act without the state causing injury to person or property within the state, except as to a cause of [329]*329action for defamation of character arising from the act, if he
(i) regularly does or solicits business, or engages in any other persistent course of conduct, or derives substantial revenue from goods used or consumed or services rendered, in the state, or
(ii) expects or should reasonably expect the act to have consequences in the state and derives substantial revenue from interstate or international commerce; or 4. owns, uses or possesses any real property situated within the state.... ”

Construing the pleadings and affidavits most favorably to the plaintiffs, Ghazoul v. International Management Services, Inc., 398 F.Supp. 307, 309 (S.D.N.Y.1975); see also Leasco Data Processing Equipment Corp. v. Maxwell, 468 F.2d 1326, 1330 (2d Cir. 1972), the Court finds that said defendants do not have any contacts with New York; neither defendant conducts business or maintains an address or telephone listing, or pays taxes in New York. Newtown does not have any property in New York. Although Tinsky does own property in New York, CPLR § 302(a)(4) is confined to actions arising from the ownership, use or possession of real property; the statute does not make ownership, use or possession of real property per se a basis of jurisdiction. See Weinstein, Korn & Miller, New York Civil Practice ¶ 302.16 (1979); CPLR § 302, 1972 Practice Commentaries at C302:25 (McKinney 1979). Based on the facts in this action, CPLR § 302(a)(3) provides the only basis for asserting “long arm” jurisdiction. However, this provision of the statute cannot sustain a finding of jurisdiction over said defendants since the alleged injury, damage to plaintiffs’ premises, occurred in Connecticut3 and, as previously mentioned, neither Newtown nor Tin-sky have, or apparently have had, any “contacts” with New York. As a result, plaintiffs’ Florida service is insufficient to support a finding of in personam jurisdiction by this Court over said defendants.

Following the Florida service, defendants Newtown and Tinsky were again personally served with process approximately one week later; plaintiffs served Tinsky on behalf of both himself and New-town at a New York City airport. Defendants contend that this second method of service also is insufficient for the Court to obtain personal jurisdiction over said defendants because Tinsky allegedly had, at most, a transient presence within the jurisdiction which does not satisfy the “minimum contacts” and other, jurisdiction requirements set forth in Shaffer v. Heitner, 433 U.S. 186, 212, 97 S.Ct. 2569, 2583, 53 L.Ed.2d 683 (1977), citing International Shoe Co. v. Washington, 326 U.S. 310, 66 S.Ct. 154, 90 L.Ed. 95 (1945). The Court does not agree. The First Circuit Court of Appeals held in Donald Manter Co., Inc. v. Davis, 543 F.2d 419 (1st Cir. 1976), a diversity action involving the same service of process issue presented in this action,

“It has long been black letter law that personal service within its geographical area establishes a court’s personal jurisdiction over the defendant. Restatement (Second) of Conflicts of Laws § 28 (1969).
.. . Nor will we adopt the suggestion, advanced by some commentators, ... but unsupported by any judicial authority, that an individual’s mere presence within the jurisdiction is not enough to subject him to the court’s process.”

Id., 543 F.2d at 420; see 4 Wright & Miller, supra, § 1064 at 209 (1969).

Defendants’ reliance on the more recent case Shaffer v. Heitner, supra, is misplaced. Shaffer did not expand or modify existing in personam jurisdiction principles such as those espoused in Donald Manter Co., Inc. v. Davis, supra.

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Bluebook (online)
89 F.R.D. 326, 1980 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 15166, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/aluminal-industries-inc-v-newtown-commercial-associates-nysd-1980.