American Continental Import Agency v. SUP. COURT OF LOS ANGELES COUNTY

216 Cal. App. 2d 317, 30 Cal. Rptr. 654, 1963 Cal. App. LEXIS 2022
CourtCalifornia Court of Appeal
DecidedMay 17, 1963
DocketCiv. 26993
StatusPublished
Cited by16 cases

This text of 216 Cal. App. 2d 317 (American Continental Import Agency v. SUP. COURT OF LOS ANGELES COUNTY) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering California Court of Appeal primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
American Continental Import Agency v. SUP. COURT OF LOS ANGELES COUNTY, 216 Cal. App. 2d 317, 30 Cal. Rptr. 654, 1963 Cal. App. LEXIS 2022 (Cal. Ct. App. 1963).

Opinions

FORD, J.

Petitioner American Continental Import Agency, a limited association organized pursuant to the laws of the Federal Republic of Germany,1 seeks a writ of mandate to compel the Superior Court of Los Angeles County to enter its order quashing service of summons in an action brought by Pasadena Investment Company, a corporation, the real party in interest in this proceeding. (See Code Civ. Proe., § 416.3.) Petitioner is also known as Aconia G.M.B.H. and Co., K.G., and reference will hereinafter be made to it as Aconia. Mañero Aircraft Company, a corporation, Robert T. Rudesill, doing business as U.S. Fastener of California, and Airborne Freight Corporation were joined as defendants in that action. Service of process on Aconia was made by means of personal service in the County of Los Angeles on Tadeus Kawalecki, a director of Aconia and its manager in charge of foreign imports. Aconia appeared specially and moved to quash the service of summons. Its motion was denied.

[319]*319In the first cause of action of the complaint it was alleged that on or about December 22, 1961, the plaintiff Pasadena Investment Company and defendant Rudesill, doing business as U. S. Fastener of California, entered into a written agreement for the purchase by the plaintiff of that defendant's accounts receivable and that a notice of assignment was filed in the office of the County Recorder of the County of Los Angeles on December 28, 1961. On January 17, 1962, for a valuable consideration certain accounts receivable and indebtedness owed to U.S. Fastener of California by Aconia were assigned to the plaintiff; the net amount due from Aconia was $22,812.49. On January 31, 1962, a similar assignment was made; the net amount due from Aconia under the assigned accounts receivable and indebtedness was $29,-537.45. Aconia had not paid to plaintiff any of the indebtedness and accounts receivable so assigned. It was further alleged that the defendants “have at all times known of the assignment and sale of all of such accounts to plaintiff, but that defendants Aconia and U. S. Fastener of California have caused the monies due and owing on the above described accounts to be paid to defendants herein by Aconia” in amounts unknown to the plaintiff. An accounting was sought. In the second cause of action it was alleged that there was a controversy “between plaintiff, on the one hand, and defendants on the other hand, in that plaintiff claims that it is entitled to collect the sums unpaid on account of all of the invoices and accounts hereinabove described, and the defendants dispute plaintiff’s said claims and contend and assert that the defendants, with the exception of defendant Aconia, are entitled to collect and receive said monies, and the defendant Aconia agrees with the contentions of said defendants.”

In support of its motion to quash service of summons the petitioner filed an afSdavit of Tadeus Kawalecki in which it was stated that the principal place of business of Aconia was in Munich, Germany, that it has never done business in the State of California, and that it has never maintained any representative of any kind within the State of California or within any other part of the United States. It was further stated: “Aconia is engaged exclusively in the business of importing aircraft parts and equipment into Germany for resale within Germany. Aconia has never solicited such import business in the State of California, the United States of America, its Territories or Possessions. All said aircraft parts [320]*320and equipment imported from the United States by Aconia have been purchased pursuant to purchase orders issued in Germany by Aconia to United States suppliers. Said purchase orders followed and resulted from negotiations all of which were conducted in Germany. Deliveries in Germany pursuant to such purchase orders are made by United States suppliers directly to German customers of Aconia. Payment to the United States suppliers for said aircraft parts and equipment are made by Aconia through German banking facilities after receipt, inspection and acceptance of said aircraft parts and equipment in Germany by German customers of Aconia.” Mr. Kawaleeki further stated that at the time of service of the summons and complaint he was in California “for the sole purpose of assuring delivery of aircraft parts and equipment from California suppliers pursuant to prior purchase orders issued in and mailed from Germany to California by Aconia, said delivery, pursuant to said purchase orders, having been delayed as a result of controversies involving U. S. Fastner [sic] of California, a California concern, which was to have supplied Aconia’s customers with aircraft parts and equipment. . . . Affiant as of the date of this affidavit has made four trips to California, including the one mentioned above. Each such trip by affiant was solely to assure delivery of aircraft parts and equipment pursuant to prior purchase orders long overdue issued in and mailed from Germany to California by Aconia. Such trips represent the only trips made by any representatives of Aconia to California. ’ ’

In an affidavit of A. H. Bergson, a director and officer of Aconia, who accompanied Mr. Kawaleeki to California in June 1961, it was stated that Mr. Kawaleeki’s four trips to California were made for the purpose of obtaining assurance from representatives of U. S. Fastener that the latter concern would deliver aircraft parts and equipment to Aconia’s customers pursuant to prior purchase orders issued in and mailed from Germany by Aconia to U. S. Fastener, the trips being necessary “soley [sic] by reason of the failure of U. S. Fastener to make delivery on said purchase orders. ...”

One of the affidavits submitted in opposition to the motion was that of the defendant Rudesill. Therein it was stated that the total amount of sales made to Aconia by U. S. Fastener in 1961 and in a part of 1962, while Mr. Rudesill “was operating the business of selling and exporting materials [321]*321primarily used in the construction of airplanes,” was in the approximate amount of $600,000.

While other affidavits were filed on behalf of the petitioner and on behalf of the real party in interest, the affidavits heretofore noted fairly set forth the factual situation upon the basis of which the question presented to this court is to be resolved. Such resolution must be based upon a consideration of those facts in the light of the reasoning of Henry R. Jahn & Son v. Superior Court, 49 Cal.2d 855 [323 P.2d 437], and Carl F. W. Borgward, G.M.B.H. v. Superior Court, 51 Cal.2d 72 [330 P.2d 789]. (See Traynor, Is This Conflict Really Necessary (1959) 37 Tex.L.R. 657, 658.)

In Henry R. Jahn & Son v. Superior Court, supra, 49 Cal.2d 855, at page 858, the governing principle was stated as follows: ‘ ‘ The statute authorizes service of process on foreign corporations that are 1 doing business in this State. ’ That term is a descriptive one that the courts have equated with such minimum contacts with the state 1 that the maintenance of the suit does not offend “traditional notions of fair play and substantial justice” ’ (International Shoe Co. v. Washington, 326 U. S. 310, 316 [66 S.Ct. 154, 90 L.Ed. 95, 102, 161 A.L.R.

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American Continental Import Agency v. SUP. COURT OF LOS ANGELES COUNTY
216 Cal. App. 2d 317 (California Court of Appeal, 1963)

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216 Cal. App. 2d 317, 30 Cal. Rptr. 654, 1963 Cal. App. LEXIS 2022, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/american-continental-import-agency-v-sup-court-of-los-angeles-county-calctapp-1963.