Donley v. Whirlpool Corporation

234 F. Supp. 869, 1964 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 7321
District Court, E.D. Michigan·Decided September 30, 1964·No. Civ. A. 23629·Published·Cited by 8 cases

Opinion

FREEMAN, District Judge.

This is an action by the administrator of the estate of Carl Edward Donley, a deceased minor, against Whirlpool Corporation, a Delaware Corporation, for negligence and also for breach of express and implied warranties in the sale of a gas range to the grandfather of the deceased child in Arkansas. The plaintiff alleges that as a result of a faulty lamp and lamp socket in the stove, an electrical current short circuit occurred, which melted and welded the contacts of the lamp base and therefore charged the gas line connected to the stove with electric current. Plaintiff’s decedent, a four year old child, while playing in his grandfather’s home on May 18, 1961, came in contact with the gas line and was electrocuted.

The defendant Whirlpool Corporation impleaded as third-party defendants General Electric Company, manufacturer of the lamp, and Drake Manufacturing Company, manufacturer of the socket. Service of process was accordingly made on the secretary of the Drake Manufacturing Company in Cook County, Illinois, the place of the company’s home office.

The case is now before the court on a motion by Drake (1) to vacate the order granting the motion of Whirlpool for the filing and service of the third-party complaint against Drake; (2) to quash the return of service of process in Illinois; and (3) to dismiss the third-party complaint for lack of jurisdiction over Drake.

There is no dispute as to the relevant statutory provisions under which service of process was made outside the borders of the State of Michigan against a foreign corporation not domiciled in Michigan.

Rule 4(d) (7) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure provides that service upon a foreign corporation is sufficient “if the summons and complaint are served in the manner prescribed by any statute of the United States or in the manner pre *871 scribed by the law of the state in which the district court is held for the service of summons or other like process upon any such defendant in an action brought in the courts of general jurisdiction of that state.”

The applicable Michigan Court Rule is GCR 105, the pertinent portions of which provide:

“Service of process upon a corporation, whether domestic or foreign, may be made by (1) leaving a summons and a copy of the complaint with any officer * * (Rule 105.4)
“Service of a summons and a copy of the complaint, as hereinbefore provided, shall confer personal jurisdiction over a defendant having any of the contacts, ties, or relations with this state as specified in RJA Chapter 7, by giving notice to the defendant of the pendency of the action and an opportunity to defend. There is no territorial limitation on the range of the service of such notice.” (Rule 105.9)

Under the relevant provision of the Michigan Revised Judicature Act, M.S.A. § 27A.711, P.A.1961, No. 236:

“The existence of any of the following relationships between a corporation and the state shall constitute a sufficient basis of jurisdiction to enable the courts of record of this state to exercise general personal jurisdiction over such corporation and to enable such courts to render personal judgments against such corporation.
“(1) Incorporation under the laws of this state.
“(2) Consent, to the extent authorized by the consent.
“(3) The carrying on of a continuous and systematic part of its general business within the state.”

Thus, extraterritorial service of process upon the secretary of Drake Manufacturing Company, a foreign corporation, was authorized by Michigan Court Rule 105 and, therefore, by Federal Rule 4(d) (7), provided Drake was subject to jurisdiction of Michigan courts by virtue of M.S.A. § 27A.711. State law rather than federal law governs the question of personal jurisdiction of a federal court over a foreign corporation in a diversity case. Velandra v. Regie Nationale Des Usines Renault and Renault, Inc., 336 F.2d 292 (CA 6, decided September 10, 1964); Smartt v. Coca-Cola Bottling Corporation (CA 6, 1963), 318 F.2d 447; Singleton v. Atlantic Coast Line Railroad Company, 20 F.R.D. 15 (E.D.Mich.1956).

The third-party plaintiff, Whirlpool, contends that Drake is subject to jurisdiction in Michigan under M.S.A. § 27A.-711 because of “the carrying on of a continuous and systematic part of its general business within the state.” Drake, on the other hand, denies that it has such “contacts, ties, or relations” with the State of Michigan as to render it subject to service of process in Illinois under GCR 105. Drake also contends that its subjection to jurisdiction in Michigan would constitute a violation of due process, for lack of the minimum contacts with Michigan that due process requires, according to International Shoe Co. v. Washington, 326 U.S. 310, 66 S.Ct. 154, 90 L.Ed. 95 (1945). The issues, therefore, are clearly drawn: (1) was Drake, during the period in question, carrying on a continuous and systematic part of its general business in Michigan within the meaning of M.S.A. § 27A.711, so as to be subject to the jurisdiction of a federal district court in Michigan in a diversity case, and (2) would subjection of Drake to general in personam jurisdiction in Michigan under M.S.A. § 27A.711 constitute a violation of due process of law?

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Donley v. Whirlpool Corporation, 234 F. Supp. 869, 1964 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 7321 (E.D. Mich. 1964).

234 F. Supp. 869 (Donley v. Whirlpool Corporation) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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