Charles Schmitt and Co. v. GRAN PRIX AUTO WHOLESALERS

616 F. Supp. 1191, 1985 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 17031
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Missouri
DecidedAugust 8, 1985
Docket85-35 C (B)
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 616 F. Supp. 1191 (Charles Schmitt and Co. v. GRAN PRIX AUTO WHOLESALERS) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. Missouri primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Charles Schmitt and Co. v. GRAN PRIX AUTO WHOLESALERS, 616 F. Supp. 1191, 1985 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 17031 (E.D. Mo. 1985).

Opinion

616 F.Supp. 1191 (1985)

CHARLES SCHMITT AND COMPANY, a corporation, Plaintiff,
v.
GRAN PRIX AUTO WHOLESALERS, INC., Defendant.

No. 85-35 C (B).

United States District Court, E.D. Missouri.

August 8, 1985.

*1192 George E. Schaaf, Guilfoil, Petzall & Shoemake, Russell F. Watters, Paul S. Brown, Brown, James & Rabbitt, St. Louis, Mo., for plaintiff.

Marvin Levine, Levine & Poznansky, New York City, Earle B. Leadlove, St. Louis, Mo., for defendant.

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

REGAN, District Judge.

This matter is before the Court on motion of defendant Grand Prix Auto Wholesalers, Inc. ("Grand Prix") to dismiss the complaint for lack of personal jurisdiction and to quash service of process.

In considering a motion to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction over a nonresident defendant, a federal court sitting in diversity[1] must engage in a two-step inquiry: first, whether state law confers personal jurisdiction over the defendant; and second, whether such an assertion of jurisdiction is consistent with the due process clause of the fourteenth amendment. Sales Service Inc. v. Daewoo International (America) Corp., 719 F.2d 971, 972 (8th Cir.1983); The Land-O-Nod Company v. Bassett Furniture Industries, Inc., 708 F.2d 1338, 1340 (8th Cir.1983); Scullin Steel Co. v. National Railway Utilization Corp., 676 F.2d 309, 312 (8th Cir.1982). The party seeking to invoke federal jurisdiction bears the burden of establishing that personal jurisdiction does exist and that burden may not be shifted to the party challenging the jurisdiction. Mountaire Feeds, Inc. v. Agro Impex, S.A., 677 F.2d 651, 653 (8th Cir.1982). Greycas, Inc. v. Anderson, 584 F.Supp. 894, 895 (D.C.Mo. 1984); Scullin Steel, 676 F.2d at 311.

Missouri does have a long-arm statute which authorizes jurisdiction over a non-resident defendant. Missouri's statute provides:

1. Any person or firm, whether or not a citizen or resident of this state, or any corporation, who in person or through an agent does any of the acts enumerated in this section, thereby submits such person, firm, or corporation, and if an individual, his personal representative, to the jurisdiction of the courts of this state as to any cause of action arising from the doing of any such acts:
(1) The transaction of any business within this state;
*1193 (2) The making of any contract within this state;
(3) The commission of a tortious act within this state;
(4) The ownership, use, or possession of any real estate situated in this state;
(5) The contracting to insure any person, property or risk located within this state at the time of contracting.
2. Only causes of action arising from acts enumerated in this section may be asserted against a defendant in an action in which jurisdiction over him is based upon this section.
§ 506.500, R.S.Mo. (1982).

Service of process under this statute is effective to extend jurisdiction over non-resident defendants to the limits allowed under the due process clause. State ex rel Deere & Co. v. Pinnell, 454 S.W.2d 889, 892 (Mo.1970) (en banc); See also Rule 4(e) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.

The due process clause of the fourteenth amendment limits the power of a court to exercise personal jurisdiction over a non-resident defendant. The due process clause requires that a defendant have certain minimum contacts with the forum state such that the maintenance of the suit does not offend "traditional notions of fair play and substantial justice." International Shoe Co. v. Washington, 326 U.S. 310, 316, 66 S.Ct. 154, 158, 90 L.Ed. 95 (1945); Accord, World Wide Volkswagen Corp. v. Woodson, 444 U.S. 286, 100 S.Ct. 559, 62 L.Ed.2d 490 (1980); Kulko v. California Superior Court, 436 U.S. 84, 98 S.Ct. 1690, 56 L.Ed.2d 132 (1978); Land of Nod, at 1340. "In judging minimum contacts, a court properly focuses on `the relationship among the defendant, the forum, and the litigation.'" Calder v. Jones, 465 U.S. 783, 104 S.Ct. 1482 at 1486, 79 L.Ed.2d 804 (1984) (citations omitted); Helicopters Nacionales de Colombia S.A. v. Hall, 466 U.S. 408, 104 S.Ct. 1868 at 1872, 80 L.Ed.2d 404 (1984). The defendant's contacts with the forum state must be purposeful and such that defendant "should reasonably anticipate being haled into court there." World Wide Volkswagen, supra, 444 U.S. at 297, 100 S.Ct. at 567; Hanson v. Denckla, 357 U.S. 235, 253, 78 S.Ct. 1228, 1239, 2 L.Ed.2d 1283 (1958).

To determine if the exercise of personal jurisdiction violates due process, courts generally consider these five factors: (1) the nature and quality of the contacts with the forum state; (2) the quantity of the contacts with the forum state; (3) the relation of the cause of action to the contacts; (4) the interest of the forum state in providing a forum for its residents; and (5) the convenience of the parties. Aaron Ferer & Sons Co. v. Diversified Metals Corp., 564 F.2d 1211, 1215 (8th Cir.1977; Simpson v. DYCON International, Inc., 618 S.W.2d 455, 457 (Mo. App.1981). Land-O-Nod, supra at 1340. The first three factors are of primary importance and the last two are of secondary importance. Land-O-Nod, supra at 1340. Hasty v. Paccar, 583 F.Supp. 1577, 1579 (D.C.Mo.1984).

Defendant Grand Prix is a New York corporation with its principal place of business in the County of Bronx, State of New York. The affidavit of Edward Haskell, President of Grand Prix, states that:

1) Grand Prix has never had and presently does not maintain any office, bank account, mailing address, telephone listing, or other business facility in the State of Missouri.
2) Grand Prix has never had any affiliates or subsidiaries which engaged in business in the state of Missouri.
3) Grand Prix has never owned any property in the State of Missouri, nor has it ever paid or been called upon to pay any Missouri tax.

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616 F. Supp. 1191, 1985 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 17031, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/charles-schmitt-and-co-v-gran-prix-auto-wholesalers-moed-1985.