Arizona Tile, L.L.C. v. Berger

224 P.3d 988, 223 Ariz. 491
CourtCourt of Appeals of Arizona
DecidedFebruary 8, 2010
Docket1 CA-CV 08-0763
StatusPublished
Cited by24 cases

This text of 224 P.3d 988 (Arizona Tile, L.L.C. v. Berger) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Arizona primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Arizona Tile, L.L.C. v. Berger, 224 P.3d 988, 223 Ariz. 491 (Ark. Ct. App. 2010).

Opinion

OPINION

WEISBERG, Judge.

¶ 1 Arizona Tile, L.L.C. sold materials on an open account to Designer Surfaces, Inc., an Arizona corporation. Designer Surfaces’ board of directors consisted of only two individuals, Howard Berger and John McCarthy. After Designer Surfaces failed to pay it, Arizona Tile filed suit against Designer Surfaces, Berger and his wife, and eventually McCarthy as well. The superior court granted summary judgment to Arizona Tile and denied summary judgment to the Bergers and McCarthy (collectively “the Defendants”). The Defendants appeal from the superior court’s rulings that it could exercise personal jurisdiction over them, that they could be personally liable for Designer Surfaces’ failure to pay Arizona Tile, and awarding Arizona Tile its attorneys’ fees. For the reasons that follow, we affirm the court’s personal jurisdiction ruling and its grant of summary judgment to Arizona Tile but reverse the award of attorneys’ fees.

BACKGROUND

¶2 Berger and McCarthy were officers and the sole directors of Designer Surfaces, which was in the business of supplying countertops to homeowners who shopped at retail stores such as Costco or Lowe’s. The homeowners contracted with and made payment to the retailer, who in turn subcontracted the work to and paid Designer Surfaces for fabricating and installing the countertops. Here, Designer Surfaces purchased the necessary materials from Arizona Tile. Arizona Tile did not enter into a contract with the homeowners. After Designer Surfaces became insolvent, it stopped paying Arizona Tile for materials it had purchased on behalf of various homeowners and for which it had been paid by the retailers.

*493 ¶ 3 Arizona Tile filed suit against Designer Surfaces for breach of a credit agreement and unjust enrichment. 1 Arizona Tile later obtained a default judgment against Designer Surfaces. 2

¶ 4 Arizona Tile’s complaint, however, also alleged a breach of fiduciary duty against the Bergers personally based on Arizona Revised Statutes (“AR.S.”) section 33-1005 (2007). The Bergers unsuccessfully moved to dismiss the complaint against them for lack of personal jurisdiction and failure to state a claim. Arizona Tile then moved to amend its complaint to add a similar claim against McCarthy for violation of A.R.S. § 33-1005, and the three Defendants answered the amended complaint.

¶ 5 Arizona Tile next moved for summary judgment on the ground that Designer Surfaces had failed to pay $26,796.57 and that Designer Surfaces, Howard Berger, and McCarthy had diverted to other uses funds they held in trust for payment to Arizona Tile. Arizona Tile further alleged that Berger and McCarthy were personally liable for having failed to pay to Arizona Tile the funds received from the retailers on behalf of the owner-occupants of homes in which Designer Surfaces had installed countertops. Finally, Arizona Tile argued that the breach of fiduciary duty arose out of contract, entitling it to attorneys’ fees.

¶ 6 The Defendants also moved for summary judgment. They argued that they could not be personally liable on the credit agreement with Arizona Tile and that no evidence showed that Designer Surfaces’ work had been performed for owner-occupied residences for purposes of AR.S. § 33-1002(A)(2). 3 They additionally argued that § 33-1005 does not require a contractor to separately hold funds received on behalf of each materials supplier and that no evidence showed any improper use of funds but merely that the funds had been pooled and otherwise expended in the normal course of business. Finally, they contended that A.R.S. § 33-1005 imposed neither a fiduciary duty on corporate directors or officers nor personal liability for breach of a duty to materials suppliers.

¶ 7 In awarding summary judgment to Arizona Tile, the superior court ruled that AR.S. § 33-1005 applied to these facts and that the case arose out of contract, entitling Arizona Tile to attorneys’ fees. Defendants timely appealed. We have jurisdiction pursuant to A.R.S. § 12-2101(B) (2003).

A. Personal Jurisdiction

¶ 8 The Defendants first argue that the superior court lacked personal jurisdiction over them and should have granted the Bergers’ motion to dismiss the complaint. When a defendant challenges the existence of personal jurisdiction, the plaintiff must come forward with facts establishing a prima facie showing of jurisdiction, at which time the burden shifts to the defendant to rebut the showing. Macpherson v. Taglione, 158 Ariz. 309, 312, 762 P.2d 596, 599 (App.1988). However, the court should resolve any conflicts “in the affidavits and pleadings” in the plaintiffs favor. Id. (citation omitted). We review the superior court’s exercise of personal jurisdiction de novo. Morgan Bank (Delaware) v. Wilson, 164 Ariz. 535, 536-37, 794 P.2d 959, 960-61 (App.1990).

¶ 9 In their motion, 4 the Bergers contended that they were California residents, had not personally guaranteed Designer Surfaces’ debts, and that the complaint failed to allege that they had committed any act or omission in or had minimum contacts with *494 Arizona. They cited Maloof v. Raper Sales, Inc., 113 Ariz. 485, 488, 557 P.2d 522, 525 (1976), to assert that corporate officers or directors are not liable for a corporation’s torts unless they authorized or participated in the challenged actions or the corporation was their alter ego.

¶ 10 In response, Arizona Tile submitted documents showing that Howard Berger was the statutory agent, president, and a director of Designer Surfaces, an Arizona corporation, that had been doing business in Arizona for at least ten years, and that he often performed such activities in Arizona. After considering the pleadings and attachments, 5 the superior court denied the motion to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction and stated that it would consider summary judgment motions after discovery had taken place.

¶ 11 We have held that personal general jurisdiction may exist over a “nonresident who has ‘substantial’ or ‘continuous and systematic’ contacts with Arizona.” Austin v. CrystalTech Web Hosting, 211 Ariz. 569, 574, ¶ 17, 125 P.3d 389, 394 (App.2005) (quoting Batton v. Tenn. Farmers Mut. Ins. Co., 153 Ariz. 268, 270, 736 P.2d 2, 4 (1987)); see also Williams v. Lakeview Co., 199 Ariz.

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Bluebook (online)
224 P.3d 988, 223 Ariz. 491, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/arizona-tile-llc-v-berger-arizctapp-2010.