Bell v. Don Prudhomme Racing, Inc.

939 N.E.2d 100, 405 Ill. App. 3d 223, 31 I.E.R. Cas. (BNA) 870, 345 Ill. Dec. 371, 2010 Ill. App. LEXIS 1190
Appellate Court of Illinois·Decided November 5, 2010·No. 4-10-0123·Published·Cited by 12 cases

Opinion

JUSTICE TURNER

delivered the opinion of the court:

In November 2009, plaintiff, John Bell, filed a complaint for retaliatory discharge against defendant, Don Prudhomme Racing, Inc., his former employer. The next month, defendant filed a motion to dismiss the action for lack of personal jurisdiction. After a January 2010 hearing, the trial court granted defendant’s motion to dismiss.

Plaintiff appeals, asserting the trial court erred by finding it lacked personal jurisdiction over defendant. We reverse and remand with directions.

I. BACKGROUND

Plaintiffs November 2009 complaint alleged he was a resident of Champaign County, Illinois, and defendant was a California corporation doing business in Champaign County. In February 2001, defendant hired plaintiff as a marketing and hospitality assistant coordinator, and plaintiff performed all of the terms, conditions, and requirements of his position in a satisfactory manner. On or around October 27, 2004, plaintiff was injured on the job and reported the injury to his employer. During the week of December 12, 2004, defendant terminated plaintiff’s employment. Plaintiff asserted defendant’s termination of his employment was in retaliation for his reporting the work-related injury and subsequently filing a workers’ compensation claim.

Defendant filed a motion to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction, asserting no contract was signed in Illinois and no tortious act took place here. In support of its motion, defendant attached the affidavit of Edward L. Allum, Jr., defendant’s general manager. Allum stated defendant’s main office was located in Vista, California, and it has another facility in Brownsburg, Indiana. Defendant did not have an office in Illinois. From about February 1 through November 30, each year, an entire crew, which would have included plaintiff, was on the road traveling from racing event to racing event all over the country. Defendant attended two racing events in Illinois that lasted five to six days. One was in Will County and the other in Madison County. Outside of those two events, defendant did not have contact with Illinois.

In January 2010, plaintiff filed a response to defendant’s motion to dismiss, asserting Illinois had jurisdiction under the Workers’ Compensation Act. See 820 ILCS 305/l(b)(2) (West 2008). Plaintiff also argued the parties’ employment contract was created and carried out in substantial connection with Illinois. In support of his position, plaintiff attached his own affidavit.

In his affidavit, plaintiff stated he was an Illinois resident and received multiple telephone calls at his residence from defendant’s acting manager, Cory Watkins. Watkins offered him employment with defendant via a telephone call while plaintiff was in Illinois, and plaintiff accepted employment in Illinois. Defendant mailed plaintiff an employment package to his Illinois residence, which plaintiff completed and returned to defendant via Federal Express from his residence. Defendant employed plaintiff from 2001 to 2004. As part of his employment, plaintiff maintained, repaired, and stored a semitrailer at his residence, which he used to transport defendant’s equipment to various races across the nation. Each year of his employment, he drove the semitrailer to and performed his regular job duties at three races in Illinois. Moreover, during his employment, plaintiff was based out of his Illinois residence and received work assignments from defendant’s employees by telephone at his residence. Last, plaintiff was at his residence when he received the call from defendant terminating his employment.

Defendant filed a response, asserting (1) the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Act did not apply to this case, (2) defendant hired plaintiff in California, (3) plaintiff performed the majority of his duties in other states, and (4) no tortious act took place in Illinois. Defendant did acknowledge a third racing event took place in Illinois when plaintiff was employed, and that event took place in Cook County. Defendant also attached the affidavit of Robert E. Craig, defendant’s mobile marketing unit manager from 1999 to 2007, and a supplemental affidavit by Allum.

In his affidavit, Craig stated he interviewed plaintiff for a position with defendant in Topeka, Kansas, in 2000. In December 2000, Craig telephoned plaintiff and informed him defendant would offer him a job if all of his paperwork and tests were completed satisfactorily. Craig further told plaintiff he would not be an employee of defendant until plaintiff (1) was at the shop in California; (2) was interviewed by Don Prudhomme; and (3) completed the employment paperwork, commercial driver’s license record report, background check, drug test, and driving test. Defendant hired plaintiff for a support position for the transportation, assembly, and on-site staffing of a mobile marketing unit operated by defendant for a smokeless tobacco company at all national racing events during the drag-racing season. Defendant’s driving duties required him to transport a semitrailer (1) to and from racing events all around the country, (2) to defendant’s facilities in California and Indiana, and (3) to and from any other third-party agencies for such things as retrofitting, redesign, and maintenance. Defendant did not give plaintiff a written offer of employment. In December 2004, Craig, who was in Florida at the time, terminated plaintiff’s employment with defendant by telephone. After that telephone call, plaintiff filed a workers’ compensation claim, alleging an injury that took place in Nevada.

To his supplemental affidavit, Allum attached numerous documents, which included the following: (1) Allum’s memorandum describing plaintiffs duties for 2003; (2) a schematic showing the 2004 tour schedule; (3) the 2004 tour schedule followed by plaintiff, including the mileage between sites; (4) a January 22, 2001, receipt for the airline ticket purchased by defendant for plaintiffs air travel from Champaign to San Diego, California; (5) a receipt for a hotel room in Vista, California, for plaintiff for lodging in January 2001; (6) plaintiffs original W-4 form; (7) a “personal file” document completed by plaintiff in California on January 25, 2001; and (8) a copy of the payroll register showing plaintiffs salary beginning with the January 23, 2001, through February 5, 2001, pay period. Allum also stated that, excluding driving time, plaintiff only spent 15 days in Illinois during the 2004 season. Additionally, defendant did not allow plaintiff to perform maintenance or repair work on any vehicle on defendant’s behalf. Last, if a vehicle was stored at plaintiffs residence, it was for plaintiffs personal convenience. If a vehicle needed to be stored for any lengthy period of time, it was to be stored at the Indiana facility.

On January 26, 2010, the trial court held a hearing on defendant’s motion to dismiss. At the hearing, the parties’ attorneys argued the motion based on the materials presented with their respective memoranda. The court did not hear any evidence. At the conclusion of the arguments, the court granted defendant’s motion to dismiss, finding (1) the employment contract was not created in Illinois and (2) a tortious act did not take place in Illinois.

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Bell v. Don Prudhomme Racing, Inc., 939 N.E.2d 100, 405 Ill. App. 3d 223, 31 I.E.R. Cas. (BNA) 870, 345 Ill. Dec. 371, 2010 Ill. App. LEXIS 1190 (Ill. Ct. App. 2010).

939 N.E.2d 100 (Bell v. Don Prudhomme Racing, Inc.) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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