Costaras v. NBC Universal, Inc.

409 F. Supp. 2d 897, 2005 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 33341, 2005 WL 3483067
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. Ohio
DecidedDecember 16, 2005
Docket1:05CV1827
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 409 F. Supp. 2d 897 (Costaras v. NBC Universal, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. Ohio primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Costaras v. NBC Universal, Inc., 409 F. Supp. 2d 897, 2005 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 33341, 2005 WL 3483067 (N.D. Ohio 2005).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION

NUGENT, District Judge.

This matter is before the Court on the Motion of Defendant NBC Studios, Inc. (“NBC”) to Dismiss for Improper Venue, or in the alternative, to Transfer Venue. (EOF # 10); the Motion of Defendant Andrew Glassman to Dismiss for Defective Service of Process and Lack of Personal Jurisdiction and Improper Venue, or in the alternative, to Transfer Venue (EOF # 12); and the Motion of Krasnow Productions, LLC to Dismiss for Lack of Person *901 al Jurisdiction and Improper Venue, or in the alternative, to Transfer Venue. (EOF # 27). For the reasons that follow, Defendants’ Motions to Transfer Venue are granted.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

Plaintiffs Bill Costaras, C. Peter Cimoroni and Alfred LaPonza are citizens and residents of Ohio. Defendant NBC is a Delaware Corporation with its principal place of business in California. Defendant Andrew Glassman is a citizen and resident of Los Angeles, California and Defendant Krasnow Productions is a California limited liability company with its principal place of business in California. (ECF # 1, paragraphs 1-6). Plaintiffs filed this diversity action against Defendants alleging breach of implied-in-fact contract, breach of oral contract, breach of confidence and fraud. All of the claims involve the Defendants’ alleged use of Plaintiffs’ new ideas, concepts, proposed show format, story lines, casting suggestions and marketing strategies for the “Average Joe” television series and Defendants’ failure to pay for or acknowledge Plaintiffs as the source for the new ideas, concepts, show format, story lines, casting or marketing strategies. Plaintiffs seek damages of $10,000,000 on each of the four counts in the Complaint.

DISCUSSION

In their Motions, Defendants Krasnow Productions and Glassman first move this Court to dismiss the Complaint for lack of personal jurisdiction. These Defendants also join in the Motion of NBC to Dismiss for improper venue, or in the alternative, to transfer venue to the Central District of California. Defendants contend that the action should be dismissed because venue is improper under Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(3), 28 U.S.C. §§ 1393 and 1406(a) because not all the Defendants reside in Ohio and the events allegedly giving rise to Plaintiffs’ claims occurred in California, not Ohio. In the absence of dismissal, Defendants request that the action be transferred to the Central District of California for the convenience of the witnesses and parties and in the interest of justice, pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §§ 1404(a) and 1406(a).

In Pittock v. Otis Elevator Co., 8 F.3d 325, 329 (6th Cir.1993), the Sixth Circuit addressed the differences between § 1404(a) and § 1406(a). In particular, the Pittock court stated:

The district court’s authority to transfer venue is based on two statutes, 28 U.S.C. § 1404(a) and 28 U.S.C. § 1406(a). Section 1404(a) permits a change of venue for the convenience of the parties and witnesses. However, a transfer under section 1404(a) may not be granted when the district court does not have personal jurisdiction over the defendants. Section 1406(a) allows a district court to grant a change of venue when venue was improper in the original forum. Specifically, section 1406(a) provides that a district court with a case “laying venue in the wrong division or district shall dismiss, or if it be in the interest of justice, transfer such case to any district or division in which it could have been brought.” Unlike section 1404(a), however, section 1406(a) does not require that the district court have personal jurisdiction over the defendants before transferring the case.

Id. at 329 (internal citations omitted). Accordingly, in order to determine whether the use of § 1404(a) or § 1406(a) is the appropriate statutory basis upon which to consider transferring a case, the court must ascertain whether it has personal jurisdiction over the defendants.

In a case that is brought under diversity jurisdiction, the federal court must apply the law of the forum state in examining whether personal jurisdiction *902 exists. See Nationwide Mut. Ins. v. Tryg Int’l Ins. Co., Ltd., 91 F.3d 790, 793 (6th Cir.1996). If a court does not hold an evidentiary hearing regarding whether a defendant is subject to personal jurisdiction in Ohio, the pleadings and affidavits must be considered in a light most favorable to the plaintiff. See Advanced Polymer Sciences, Inc. v. Phillips Indus. Servs., 34 F.Supp.2d 597, 599 (N.D.Ohio 1999) (citing CompuServe, Inc. v. Patterson, 89 F.3d 1257, 1262 (6th Cir.1996)). More specifically, in considering a motion to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction without an evidentiary hearing, the court must consider the facts as set forth by the plaintiff as true. See id. (citing Kerry Steel, Inc. v. Paragon Indus. Inc., 106 F.3d 147, 149 (6th Cir.1997)). Moreover, the plaintiff bears the burden of demonstrating that personal jurisdiction exists. See CompuServe, 89 F.3d at 1261.

In order to overcome a defendant’s assertion of lack of personal jurisdiction, the plaintiff need only set forth a prima facie showing of jurisdiction. See id. at 1262. In deciding whether personal jurisdiction exists, a court must engage in a two-part inquiry: (1) the court must determine whether the defendant is encompassed by the state’s long-arm statute; and (2) the court must determine whether exercising personal jurisdiction over the defendant satisfies standards of constitutional due process. See Nationwide, 91 F.3d at 793.

The first inquiry is whether Defendants Glassman and Krasnow Productions fall within Ohio’s long-arm statute. Ohio’s long-arm statute is found in Ohio Rev. Code § 2307.282, which states in pertinent part:

(A) A court may exercise personal jurisdiction over a person who acts directly or by an agent, as to a cause of action arising from the person’s:

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Bluebook (online)
409 F. Supp. 2d 897, 2005 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 33341, 2005 WL 3483067, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/costaras-v-nbc-universal-inc-ohnd-2005.