Deem v. Lockheed Corp.

749 F. Supp. 1230, 1989 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 11901, 1989 WL 226130
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. New York
DecidedOctober 6, 1989
Docket87 Civ. 7017 (JMC)
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 749 F. Supp. 1230 (Deem v. Lockheed Corp.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. New York primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Deem v. Lockheed Corp., 749 F. Supp. 1230, 1989 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 11901, 1989 WL 226130 (S.D.N.Y. 1989).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

CANNELLA, District Judge.

Defendants’ motion to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction is denied, without prejudice. Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(2). Defendants’ motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim is granted in part and denied in part. Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(6). Plaintiffs’ cross-motion to amend is granted in part and denied in part. Fed.R.Civ.P. 15(a). Defendants’ motion to strike is denied. Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(f).

BACKGROUND

In 1985, defendant Lockheed Corporation [“Lockheed”] acquired five separate but affiliated corporations known as Metier Management Systems Companies [“Metier”], for a sum of approximately $127 million. Plaintiffs Madison Associates, Inc. and its president, Charles P. Deem, claimed that they had entered into an oral finder’s fee contract with Lockheed and that pursuant to this contract they had “introduced” Metier to Lockheed. Thus, plaintiffs maintained that as a result of the acquisition they were entitled to 1% finder’s fee of $1.27 million. 1 Lockheed refused to pay the finder’s fee, claiming that it did not enter into a finder’s fee contract with plaintiffs and that even if it did, Lockheed’s consideration of Metier as an acquisition candidate did not result from any effort by plaintiffs.

Thereafter, plaintiffs commenced the instant action against Lockheed and Metier. Also named as defendants are Joseph G. Twomey, Stephen H. Wagner, Harold T. Bowling, Glenn T. Williamson and Lawrence 0. Kitchen, all employees of Lockheed [collectively “the Lockheed employee defendants”]. In addition, two former Metier officers, Patrick Durbin and Robin W.I. Lodge, are named as defendants.

Plaintiffs’ complaint includes claims for (1) violation of federal and state antitrust law (counts one through three); (2) violation of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act [“RICO”] (counts four through seven); (3) breach of contract (count eight and eleven); (4) unjust enrichment (count nine); (5) conspiracy to induce breach of contract (count ten); (6) fraud (counts twelve and thirteen); and (7) “unjust dismissal” (count fourteen).

The Lockheed employee defendants now move to dismiss all claims against them on the grounds of lack of jurisdiction over the person, Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(2), and failure to state a claim upon which relief may be granted. Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(6). They also move to strike certain allegations from the complaint. Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(f). Defendants Durbin and Lodge join in the motions, with the exception of the motion to strike. 2 Plaintiffs oppose defendants’ motions and move to amend the complaint. Fed.R. Civ.P. 15(a).

DISCUSSION

1. Personal Jurisdiction

Plaintiffs must ultimately establish personal jurisdiction over defendants by a *1234 fair preponderance of the credible evidence. See Cutco Indus. v. Naughton, 806 F.2d 361, 365 (2d Cir.1986) (citing Marine Midland Bank N.A. v. Miller, 664 F.2d 899, 904 (2d Cir.1981)). However, where the Court, as in the instant case, chooses to rely on pleadings and affidavits — instead of holding an evidentiary hearing — plaintiffs’ need only make a prima facie showing that jurisdiction exists. See Cutco, 806 F.2d at 364. Moreover, in the absence of an evi-dentiary hearing, “all pleadings and affidavits are construed in the light most favorable to plaintiff, and where doubts exist, they are resolved in plaintiff’s favor.” Hoffritz for Cutlery, Inc. v. Amajac, Ltd., 763 F.2d 55, 57 (2d Cir.1985) (citing cases); see Cutco, 806 F.2d at 365.

“[BJefore a court may exercise personal jurisdiction over a defendant, there must be ... a basis for the defendant’s amenability to service of summons. Absent consent, this means there must be authorization for service of summons on the defendant.” Omni Capital Int’l v. Rudolf Wolff & Co., 484 U.S. 97, 108 S.Ct. 404, 409, 98 L.Ed.2d 415 (1987). In a federal action, Rule 4 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure governs service of process. Under Rule 4(e) “a federal court normally looks either to a federal statute or to the long-arm statute of the State in which it sits to determine whether a defendant is amenable to ser-vice_” Omni, 108 S.Ct. at 410; see also Soltex Polymer Corp. v. Fortex Indus., Inc., 590 F.Supp. 1453, 1459 (E.D.N.Y.1984) (“[I]n a typical federal action a nonresident defendant may be served in the manner prescribed by federal statutes ... or in the manner prescribed by the State rules of service.”) (footnote omitted), aff'd on other ground, 832 F.2d 1325 (2d Cir.1987).

The Lockheed employee defendants move to dismiss, arguing that neither federal nor state law provide a basis for personal jurisdiction. RICO, however, authorizes nationwide service of process. See 18 U.S.C. § 1965(d). As the Court finds that plaintiffs have pleaded a valid RICO claim against the Lockheed employee defendants, see infra, personal jurisdiction as to those defendants is proper. See Soltex, 590 F.Supp. at 1458.

Defendants Durbin and Lodge also move to dismiss, claiming that neither the relevant federal statutes nor New York law provide a proper basis for personal jurisdiction. Both Durbin and Lodge live and work in England and were served with the summons and complaint in England. Durbin and Lodge state that they never met in New York with plaintiffs and never came to New York in connection with the acquisition negotiations between Lockheed and Metier. See Declaration of Patrick Durbin and Declaration of Robin W.I. Lodge, 87 Civ. 7017 (JMC) (S.D.N.Y. Feb. 29, 1988).

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Bluebook (online)
749 F. Supp. 1230, 1989 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 11901, 1989 WL 226130, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/deem-v-lockheed-corp-nysd-1989.