Collazo v. Enterprise Holdings, Inc.

823 F. Supp. 2d 865, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 115208, 2011 WL 4732867
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. Indiana
DecidedOctober 5, 2011
DocketNo. 2:11-CV-00108-PPS-APR
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 823 F. Supp. 2d 865 (Collazo v. Enterprise Holdings, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. Indiana primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Collazo v. Enterprise Holdings, Inc., 823 F. Supp. 2d 865, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 115208, 2011 WL 4732867 (N.D. Ind. 2011).

Opinion

OPINION AND ORDER

PHILIP P. SIMON, Chief Judge.

This diversity case arises out of a trolley accident in Puerto Rico in which plaintiff Elsa Collazo, who was riding the trolley from the airport to pick up a car she had rented from Enterprise, was ejected from her seat during a sudden stop. Collazo alleges both negligence and breach of contract against Enterprise Holdings, Inc. and its Puerto Rican subsidiary, Prerac, Inc. Both Defendants have filed nearly identical motions to dismiss [DE 19 & 22], arguing that the Court lacks personal jurisdiction, and that venue is improper [Id.]. Collazo’s response requests that I transfer the case to the district court in Puerto Rico, should I find that personal jurisdiction is lacking [DE 28]. For the reasons explained below, I agree that the Court lacks jurisdiction over these Defendants, so I need not reach the improper venue arguments. However, I find that, rather than dismissal, the interests of justice favor a transfer of Collazo’s suit to the district court in Puerto Rico, where Collazo’s injury occurred. So the motions to dismiss are DENIED, and Collazo’s request for transfer is GRANTED.

BACKGROUND

Collazo, an Indiana citizen, alleges that she entered into an agreement with the Defendants to rent a car, for her use during a visit to Puerto Rico [DE 16, ¶ 6]. As part of the agreement, Defendants were to provide her with transportation by trolley from a Puerto Rico airport to an Enterprise rental car terminal there [Id., ¶ 7]. On April 27, 2010, while Collazo was riding in the trolley down an expressway in Carolina, Puerto Rico, Collazo was partially ejected from her seat and injured, following a sudden stop [Id., ¶¶ 8-9 & 18]. Collazo’s negligence and breach of contract claims against Defendants are based on her allegation that the trolley was not equipped with a seatbelt, which she asserts is a violation of Puerto Rico law and a breach of Defendants’ agreement to provide her with safe transportation [Id., ¶¶ 15,17 & 21].

Enterprise Holdings, a Missouri corporation with its principal place of business in Missouri, and Prerac, a Puerto Rico corporation with a principal place of business in Puerto Rico, contend that the Court lacks personal jurisdiction over them because neither conducts business in Indiana. Collazo argues that Defendants are subject to general personal jurisdiction on the basis of the “interactivity” of their websites — enterprise.com and erac.com— which are accessible in Indiana. She also asserts an alter ego theory, arguing that [868]*868general personal jurisdiction can be exercised on the ground that Enterprise Holdings and its subsidiaries, including those in Puerto Rico (i.e., Prerac) and Indiana, “function with a single identity” [DE 28 at 10]. Finally, Collazo argues that Defendants are subject to specific personal jurisdiction based on her rental car contract, as well as the relationship between her claims and Defendants’ websites.

DISCUSSION

I. Personal Jurisdiction

The first issue is whether this Court has personal jurisdiction over the Defendants. A federal court’s personal jurisdiction is determined by the laws of its forum state. Tamburo v. Dworkin, 601 F.3d 693, 700 (7th Cir.2010). Indiana’s long-arm statute allows jurisdiction so long as it’s consistent with the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. Ind. R. Trial. P. 4.4(a); Rodriguez v. Cavitec AG, No. 1:09-CV-336, 2010 WL 2519715, at *4 (N.D.Ind. June 14, 2010). As a result, the state statutory and federal constitutional inquiries merge, and the determinative issue is whether the exercise of jurisdiction over these Defendants comports with the federal Due Process Clause. Tamburo, 601 F.3d at 700; Terry McKannan v. National Council of Young Men’s Christian Assocs. of the U.S., No. 3:10—CV-88, 2010 WL 4668437, at *3 (S.D.Ind. Nov. 9, 2010).

Collazo has the burden of establishing personal jurisdiction, though without the benefit of an evidentiary hearing, she need only make a prim a facie showing of the jurisdictional facts. Tamburo, 601 F.3d at 700; Purdue Research Found, v. Sanofi — Synthelabo, S.A., 338 F.3d 773, 782 (7th Cir.2003). At this stage, I must accept as true all well-pleaded facts in the complaint and resolve any factual disputes in Collazo’s favor. Id.

To confer jurisdiction, due process requires that a defendant has purposefully established “minimum contacts” with the forum state “such that the maintenance of the suit does not offend traditional notions of fair play and substantial justice.” Int'l Shoe Co. v. Washington, 326 U.S. 310, 316, 66 S.Ct. 154, 90 L.Ed. 95 (1945) (internal citations and quotations omitted); Burger King Corp. v. Rudzewicz, 471 U.S. 462, 474, 105 S.Ct. 2174, 85 L.Ed.2d 528 (1985). Crucial to this analysis is a showing that the defendant “should reasonably anticipate being haled into court [in the forum State]” because it “purposefully avail[ed] itself of the privilege of conducting activities” there. Burger King, 471 U.S. at 474-75, 105 S.Ct. 2174.

Personal jurisdiction can be general or specific depending on the extent of the defendant’s contacts. Mobile Anesthesiologists Chicago, LLC v. Anesthesia Assocs. of Houston Metroplex, 623 F.3d 440, 444 (7th Cir.2010). “If a defendant’s contacts are so extensive that it is subject to general personal jurisdiction, then it can be sued in the forum state for any cause of action arising in any place. More limited contacts may subject the defendant only to specific personal jurisdiction, in which case the plaintiff must show that its claims against the defendant arise out of the defendant’s constitutionally sufficient contacts with the state.” uBID, Inc. v. GoDaddy Group, Inc., 623 F.3d 421, 425 (7th Cir.2010). Either way, the ultimate constitutional question is whether the defendant had “certain minimum contacts with [the forum] such that the maintenance of the suit does not offend ‘traditional notions of fair play and substantial justice.’ ” Id. (quoting Int'l Shoe, 326 U.S. at 316, 66 S.Ct. 154).

Collazo contends that Defendants are subject to both general and specific jurisdiction in Indiana. For the reasons I dis[869]*869cuss below, I find that Defendants are subject to neither.

A. General Personal Jurisdiction

General jurisdiction is permitted only when the defendant has “continuous and systematic general business contacts” with the forum state. Helicopteros Nacionales de Colombia, S.A. v. Hall, 466 U.S. 408, 415-16, 104 S.Ct. 1868, 80 L.Ed.2d 404 (1984). This standard, which is considerably more stringent than the standard for specific jurisdiction, “requires the defendant to have such extensive contacts with the state that it can be treated as present in the state for essentially all purposes.” uBID, 623 F.3d at 425-26 (citing Tamburo,

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823 F. Supp. 2d 865, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 115208, 2011 WL 4732867, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/collazo-v-enterprise-holdings-inc-innd-2011.