Camac v. Dontos

390 S.W.3d 398, 2012 WL 1355695, 2012 Tex. App. LEXIS 2977
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedApril 17, 2012
DocketNo. 05-11-00765-CV
StatusPublished
Cited by15 cases

This text of 390 S.W.3d 398 (Camac v. Dontos) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Camac v. Dontos, 390 S.W.3d 398, 2012 WL 1355695, 2012 Tex. App. LEXIS 2977 (Tex. Ct. App. 2012).

Opinion

OPINION

Opinion By Justice MURPHY.

Brad Camac appeals the trial court’s order denying his special appearancé in a [403]*403franchise dispute filed against him and others by Jordan and Jennifer Dontos and Crave, LLC (collectively, the Dontoses).1 We affirm the trial court’s order.

BACKGROUND

The underlying dispute involves a franchise agreement the Dontoses entered into with 24Seven Vending (USA) Limited, a New Zealand company, for vending machine routes located in Texas. Camac, a California resident, was the Vice President of Franchise Sales for 24Seven and handled the sale of the vending machine franchise in Texas to the Dontoses.

According to the Dontoses, they were promised two established vending machine routes within Farmers Branch and Car-rollton, Texas, each of which was said to generate minimum average weekly gross sales of $6,730. The Dontoses borrowed $338,000 from a bank recommended by 24Seven, paid that amount plus a $175,000 deposit to 24Seven, quit their jobs, and moved from Seattle, Washington to Car-rollton to manage their franchise. Ultimately, 24Seven did not tender the described routes, and instead, the Dontoses were asked to accept below-average sales routes that required greater driving distances between accounts. The Dontoses also later learned 24Seven was running into financial difficulty in the time just before they became franchisees and that 24Seven was to be sold to another company called Bacon Whitney Corporation. The Dontoses claim this information, as well as the availability of the promised routes, was either misrepresented or concealed from them.

Camac is one of ten defendants2 the Dontoses sued alleging violations of the Federal Trade Commission franchise rule, 16 C.F.R. §§ 436.2, 436.9 (2004), the Texas Business Opportunity Act, Tex. Bus. & Com. Code Ann. § 51.301 (West 2009), the Deceptive Trade Practices-Consumer Protection Act, Tex. Bus. & Com.Code Ann. §§ 17.41-.926 (West 2011), and the Washington Franchise Investment Protection Act, Wash. Rev.Code Ann. § 19.100.170 (West 2008). The Dontoses also alleged causes of action for fraud, breach of the franchise agreement, and interference with contractual and business relationships. As to Camac, the Dontoses specifically alleged he was the “principal spokesman and actor” in the fraud perpetrated on them by the defendants.

Camac specially appeared and objected to the court’s exercise of personal jurisdiction over him. Camac argued his only contacts with Texas arose out of his employment with 24Seven. Camac verified his special appearance in which he attested he never conducted business in Texas in his individual capacity, but rather, “any contacts [he] may have had with the State of Texas were on behalf of [his] former employer, 24Seven (USA) Limited.” The Dontoses responded -with an affidavit of Jordan Dontos, which they incorporated into their sixth amended petition. The trial court denied the special appearance, finding it had specific jurisdiction over Ca-mac.3 Camac appealed that ruling. See [404]*404Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem.Code Ann. § 51.014(a)(7) (West 2008) (interlocutory appeal).

DISCUSSION

Camac raises several arguments in his single issue challenging the trial court’s denial of his special appearance. Those include assertions the Dontoses’ jurisdictional facts pleaded and contained in Jordan Dontos’s affidavit are insufficient, that Camac did not purposefully avail himself of jurisdiction in Texas because his contacts were at the direction of his employer, there is no connection between the facts alleged and the operative facts of the case, and he negated the jurisdictional allegations. We conclude the trial court properly found it had specific jurisdiction over Camac and limit our analysis accordingly.

Due Process

Personal jurisdiction concerns a court’s power to bind a particular person or party. CSR Ltd. v. Link, 925 S.W.2d 591, 594 (Tex.1996) (orig. proceeding). That power is grounded in constitutional guarantees of due process. Texas courts may exercise personal jurisdiction over a nonresident defendant if the Texas long-arm statute permits the exercise of jurisdiction and the assertion of jurisdiction is consistent with federal and state constitutional due process guarantees. Kelly v. Gen. Interior Constr., Inc., 301 S.W.3d 653, 657 (Tex.2010). The requirements of the Texas long-arm statute are considered satisfied if the exercise of personal jurisdiction is consistent with federal due process limitations. Id.

The due process clause of the federal constitution permits a court to exercise personal jurisdiction over a nonresident defendant only when the defendant has “established minimum contacts with the forum state, and the exercise of jurisdiction comports with ‘traditional notions of fair play and substantial justice.’ ” Moki Mac River Expeditions v. Drugg, 221 S.W.3d 569, 575 (Tex.2007) (quoting Int’l Shoe Co. v. Washington, 326 U.S. 310, 316, 66 S.Ct. 154, 90 L.Ed. 95 (1945)). Minimum contacts are established when the nonresident defendant “purposefully avails itself of the privilege of conducting activities within the forum State, thus invoking the benefits and protections of its laws.” Hanson v. Denckla, 357 U.S. 235, 253, 78 S.Ct. 1228, 2 L.Ed.2d 1283 (1958); Michiana Easy Livin’ Country, Inc. v. Holten, 168 S.W.3d 777, 784 (Tex.2005). The defendant’s conduct and connection with the state must be such that it could reasonably anticipate being sued in the forum state. See Burger King Corp. v. Rudzewicz, 471 U.S. 462, 474-75, 105 S.Ct. 2174, 85 L.Ed.2d 528 (1985); Am. Type Culture Collection, Inc. v. Coleman, 83 S.W.Sd 801, 806 (Tex.2002).

Standards & Burdens

The question of whether a trial court has personal jurisdiction over a nonresident defendant is one of law that we review de novo. Kelly, 301 S.W.3d at 657. When, as here, the trial court does not issue findings of fact or conclusions of law in support of its special appearance ruling, all facts necessary to support the judgment and supported by the evidence are implied. Moki Mac, 221 S.W.3d at 574; BMC Software Belg., N.V. v. Marchand, 83 S.W.3d 789, 795 (Tex.2002).

[405]*405A defendant claiming it is not amenable to process in Texas must file a verified special appearance challenging the trial court’s exercise of jurisdiction. See TEX.R. CIV. P. 120a; Petrie v. Widby, 194 S.W.3d 168, 174 (Tex.App.-Dallas 2006, no pet.).

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
390 S.W.3d 398, 2012 WL 1355695, 2012 Tex. App. LEXIS 2977, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/camac-v-dontos-texapp-2012.