Architectural Building Components Corp. v. Comfort

1974 OK 134, 528 P.2d 307
Supreme Court of Oklahoma·Decided November 5, 1974·No. 47354·Published·Cited by 20 cases

Opinion

DOOLIN, Justice.

What constitutes due process in the area of civil proceedings and process is raised in this case. Specifically, what are the “minimum contacts” and the fundamental concepts of “fair play and substantial justice” necessary under International Shoe Corp. v. Washington, 326 U.S. 310, 66 S.Ct. 154, 90 L.Ed. 95, 161 A.L.R. 1057, and Hanson v. Denckla, 357 U.S. 235, 78 S.Ct. 1228, 2 L.Ed.2d 1283, before the long arm statute enacted by the Oklahoma Legislature 1 shall become operative ? Before commencing to dispose of this matter, we feel compelled to note that due process may not be the “genius” or discovery of American Jurisprudence but we cannot help but comment that it has occupied and continues to demand a large part of the attention of the Federal and State courts of this Nation.

The facts are comparatively simple.

Petitioner, Architectural Building Components Corp., is a foreign corporation not domesticated in Oklahoma and maintaining its principal place of business in Chicago, Illinois. Allied Steel Products Corp., Respondent, does business in Oklahoma, and whether or not it is a domesticated corporation is immaterial, for its principal place of business is in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where the story begins.

In September, 1972, Petitioner, without direct solicitation from Allied Steel, made a long distance call from Chicago to Tulsa for the purpose of buying a given quantity of merchandise consisting of steel products to be delivered f.o.b. Chicago by Allied. On the same day Petitioner mailed its confirming purchase order to Allied Steel in Tulsa, noting the existence of the telephone order on same. Thereafter Allied Steel shipped to the Petitioner in November, 1972, a lesser quantity of merchandise than ordered and promptly rendered an invoice a few days later. When the merchandise arrived (short certain items of consequence according to Petitioner) additional communication between Chicago and Tulsa ensued, initiated by Petitioner, and centering on Allied’s failure to deliver all items.

When Petitioner refused to pay for the merchandise an action was filed in the Tulsa County District Court and service was had by mail under 12 O.S.1971 § 1702.01(a)(3); proof of service was made as required by 12 O.S.1971 § 1702.01(b). Within proper time, Petitioner challenged such service by special or limited appearance and Motion to Quash and Dismiss, referring in its Motion to copies of the purchase order, invoice and bill of lading attached to Allied’s Petition and attaching to the Motion an affidavit sworn to by Petitioner’s President alleging, among other things, that the Tulsa County District Court was without personam jurisdiction in that Petitioner had never engaged in any of the acts, actions or activities enumerated in the Oklahoma Statutes. The affidavit of Petitioner’s President also alleged Allied’s failure to product the quantity of merchandise originally ordered by Petitioner. The Motion raises questions of United States Constitutional due process. We are not presented with the question of the rights of the parties under the Uniform Commercial Code, but solely with questions of civil due process.

The test or requirement of “minimum contacts” that a defendant must have maintained or established in the state or forum of the plaintiff’s choice is such that the maintenance of a suit based thereon *309 does not offend “traditional motions of fair play and substantial justice”, International Shoe, supra. Some twelve and one-half years after International Shoe the Supreme Court of the United States in Hanson v. Denckla, supra, felt constrained to sound this word of caution:

“But it is a mistake to assume that this trend heralds the eventual demise of all restrictions on personal jurisdiction of state courts. See Vanderbilt v. Vanderbilt, 354 U.S. 416, 418, 77 S.Ct. 1360, 1362, 1 L.Ed.2d 1456, 1459. Those restrictions are more than a guarantee of immunity from inconvenience or distant litigation. They are a consequence of territorial limitations on the power of the respective States. However minimal the burden of defending in a foreign tribunal, a defendant may not be called upon to do so unless he has had the ‘minimal contacts’ with that State that are a prerequisite to its exercise of power over him.”

This Court last dealt with and interpreted 12 O.S.1971 § 1701.03 in Fidelity Bank, N.A. v. Standard Industries, Inc., 515 P.2d 219 (1973), and stated that “this statute was intended to extend the jurisdiction of Oklahoma courts over nonresidents to the outer limits permitted by the United States Constitution’s due process provisions.” We cited Vemco Plating, Inc. v. Denver Fire Clay Company, Okl., 496 P.2d 117, 119 and B. K. Sweeney Co. v. Colorado Interstate Gas Co., Okl., 429 P.2d 759, 762. We have always acknowledged the supremacy of the U.S. Constitution; 'thus, the limitation or qualification of Hanson v. Denckla, supra, suggests that we should pause and note its warning — “it is a mistake to assume that this trend heralds the eventual demise of all restrictions on personal jurisdiction of state courts.”

Our own Constitutional provisions in Article II, Sec. 7, guarantee to all persons due process by stating “no person shall be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law.” (emphasis added).

Respondents refer us to several cases; first, Anderson, Clayton & Co. v. Atlas Concrete Pipe, Inc., 41 Mich.App. 58, 199 N.W.2d 531 (1972). The parties in that case stipulated that a Michigan corporation entered into a contract to purchase certain equipment by mail and telephone with a resident of Texas. Payment was to be made in Texas. The Michigan corporation refused delivery of the merchandise and • returned same to Texas, whereupon the Texas resident filed suit in the Texas courts and issued process under that state’s long arm statute. Upon obtaining judgment, proceedings were commenced in Michigan and the Michigan court gave full faith and credit to the Texas judgment. ' As we interpret the facts in the Michigan case last mentioned, they closely parallel the facts in Yankee Metal Products Co. v. District Court of Oklahoma Co., Okl., 528 P.2d 311, this day decided; for the Texas manufacturer or assembler in that case fabricated the requested clamps and mounting brackets at the request of the Michigan buyer. The Supreme Court of Michigan found applicable Article 2031b, § 4 Vernon’s Annotated Texas Revised Civil Statutes 2 and thus gave full faith and credit to the Texas judgment. There is no like or similar provision found in 12 O.S. 1971 § 187 or 12 O.S.1971 § 1701.03, and we express no opinion nor imply any constitutional infirmity to a long arm provision such as found in the Texas Statute.

We are also referred to Cook Associates, Inc. v. Colonial Broach & Mach. Co., 14 Ill.App.3d 965, 304 N.E.2d 27

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Architectural Building Components Corp. v. Comfort, 1974 OK 134, 528 P.2d 307 (Okla. 1974).

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