Basf Corp. v. Willowood, LLC

359 F. Supp. 3d 1018
District Court, D. Colorado·Decided January 14, 2019·No. Civil Action No. 18-cv-00268-CMA-STV·Published·Cited by 5 cases

Opinion

CHRISTINE M. ARGUELLO, United States District Judge

This matter is before the Court on Defendant Willowood Limited's Motion to Dismiss, which asserts that the Court lacks personal jurisdiction pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(2). (Doc. # 60.) For the following reasons, the Court concludes that it does not have personal jurisdiction over Willowood Limited and accordingly grants the motion.

I. BACKGROUND

On February 1, 2018, Plaintiff BASF ("BASF") filed a lawsuit against Defendants Willowood, LLC ("W-LLC"), Willowood USA, LLC ("W-USA"), Greenfields Marketing, Limited ("Greenfields"), RightLine, LLC ("RightLine"), and Willowood Limited ("W-Limited") for patent infringement pursuant to 35 U.S.C. § 1 et seq. (Doc. ## 1, 50.) BASF avers all Defendants are subject to personal jurisdiction in the federal district of Colorado. (Id. ) W-Limited by contrast, argues that it is not subject to either general or specific jurisdiction in Colorado. (Doc. # 60.) The following facts are drawn from the Complaint and are taken as true for the purposes of the instant motion.

BASF is incorporated in Delaware, and its principal place of business is in Florham Park, New Jersey. (Doc. # 50 at ¶ 1.) BASF researches, develops, tests, and sells different products and technologies in the agrochemical field. (Id. at ¶ 41.) BASF researched and developed pyraclostrobin, a "break-through fungicidal chemical for use (1) in disease control and plant health in a variety of plants, (2) as a seed treatment for disease control and plant health in a variety of crops, and (3) as a drench for soil borne disease control and improved plant health in production ornamentals." (Id. at ¶ 42.) BASF obtained two patents1 *1023relating to the process of manufacturing the pyraclostrobin chemical compound. (Id. at ¶¶ 43, 44, 48.) As a result, BASF has manufactured, marketed, and sold pyraclostrobin end-use products under various different brands. (Id. at ¶ 42.) Accordingly, BASF received several registrations for pyraclostrobin from both the Environmental Protection Agency and state authorities as early as September 30, 2002. (Id. at ¶¶ 53-56.)

Defendant W-Limited is a limited liability company that is incorporated and has its principal place of business in Hong Kong. (Id. at ¶ 4.) Defendant W-USA, a limited liability company incorporated in Oregon with its principal place of business in Broomfield, Colorado, is a wholly owned subsidiary of W-Limited. (Id. at ¶¶ 1 and 19.) Defendants W-LLC and RightLine are both wholly owned subsidiaries of W-USA.2 (Doc. # 50 at ¶¶ 17-18.) Defendants W-USA, W-LLC, and RightLine sought and received approval from the Colorado Department of Agriculture to sell products allegedly obtained in violation of the '392 and '451 patents.3 (Id. at ¶ 22.)

BASF filed an amended complaint on July 30, 2018. (Doc. # 50.) W-Limited subsequently filed the instant Motion to Dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction on August 15, 2018. (Doc. # 60.) Plaintiff filed a response on September 5, 2018 (Doc. # 65) and W-Limited filed a reply on September 19, 2018 (Doc. # 70).

II. LAW

To establish personal jurisdiction over a nonresident defendant, a plaintiff must show both that jurisdiction is proper under the forum state's long-arm statute and that the exercise of personal jurisdiction over the defendant comports with the Due Process Clause of the United States Constitution. See Equifax Servs., Inc. v. Hitz , 905 F.2d 1355, 1357 (10th Cir. 1990). Colorado's long-arm statute permits the Court to exercise personal jurisdiction to the full extent of the Due Process Clause, and therefore, the analysis collapses into a single due process inquiry. See Colo. Rev. Stat. §§ 13-1-124(1)(a)-(b) ; Dart Int'l, Inc. v. Interactive Target Sys., Inc ., 877 F.Supp. 541, 543 (D. Colo. 1995) (citing Safari Outfitters, Inc. v. Superior Court , 167 Colo. 456, 448 P.2d 783 (1968) ); SGI Air Holdings II LLC. v. Novartis Int'l, AG , 192 F.Supp.2d 1195, 1197-98 (D. Colo. 2002).

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Basf Corp. v. Willowood, LLC, 359 F. Supp. 3d 1018 (D. Colo. 2019).

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