FCStone LLC v. Buckley

864 F. Supp. 2d 816, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 72653, 2012 WL 1889727
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. Iowa
DecidedMay 24, 2012
DocketNo. 4:11-cv-00551-JEG-TJS
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 864 F. Supp. 2d 816 (FCStone LLC v. Buckley) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. Iowa primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
FCStone LLC v. Buckley, 864 F. Supp. 2d 816, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 72653, 2012 WL 1889727 (S.D. Iowa 2012).

Opinion

ORDER

JAMES E. GRITZNER, Chief Judge.

Now before the Court is a Motion to Dismiss for Lack of Personal Jurisdiction or, in the Alternative, to Dismiss for Forum Non Conveniens brought by Defendants Joseph Buckley (Buckley) and Christian Riehle (Riehle) (collectively, Defendants). Plaintiff FCStone LLC1 (FCStone) resists. The parties have not requested a hearing; thus, the matter is fully submitted and ready for disposition.

I. PROCEDURAL AND FACTUAL HISTORY2

FCStone, an Iowa corporation providing comprehensive risk management consulting services in the commodities market, brought this action against its former employees Buckley and Riehle, alleging that they breached their employment contracts by violating the non-competition and nondisclosure agreements contained therein. FCStone avers that Defendants, both Illinois residents previously employed in FCStone’s foreign currency trading division in Chicago, Illinois, abruptly resigned on October 31, 2011, and then misappropriated FCStone’s trade secrets in violation of their fiduciary duties and the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act. In furtherance of this misappropriation, Buckley allegedly used FCStone’s computers and systems to email three pieces of FCStone’s proprietary information3 to his personal email account. FCStone alleges that Defendants now are employed by competitors.

On November 11, 2011, FCStone, through its in-house counsel, sent letters to Defendants requesting that they affirm their compliance with the non-compete and non-disclosure clauses included in their employment agreements with FCStone. Neither Defendant complied. Instead, after receiving the letter, Buckley called FCStone’s counsel to inform FCStone that he had retained counsel. On November 15, 2011, Daniel Austin, acting as counsel for Buckley and Riehle, called FCStone and stated that Defendants would only confirm their intention to abide by the employment contracts if they received a release from FCStone. Following Defendants’ failure to affirm their compliance with their employment agreements, FCStone filed its Complaint on November 22, 2011.

In its Complaint, FCStone asserts that personal jurisdiction is proper

because this dispute arises out of Defendants’ employment with a citizen of Iowa and the employment agreements at issue are governed by Iowa law. Moreover, Defendants directed their action to Iowa[] by communicating, individually and through counsel, with FCStone in Iowa, regarding the acts at issue here [819]*819and the causes of action therefore arise from Defendants’ contacts with Iowa.

Compl. ¶ 5, ECF No. 1. Defendants, having timely filed a Motion to Dismiss, contend that they lack sufficient contacts with Iowa to support a finding of personal jurisdiction, as they were hired by FCStone in Illinois, signed their employment agreements in Illinois, worked exclusively in the Chicago office, never traveled to Iowa as part of their employment, never communicated with supervisors or subordinates in Iowa, never received training in Iowa, and generally engaged in their business exclusively in Illinois. In the alternative, Defendants request the Court dismiss under the doctrine of forum non conveniens, as Defendants, the sources of proof, most if not all witnesses, and the alleged misappropriation all occurred or are located in Illinois.

II. DISCUSSION

A. Rule 12(b)(2) Standard

“To survive a motion to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction, a plaintiff must make a prima facie showing that personal jurisdiction exists, which is accomplished by pleading sufficient facts ‘to support a reasonable inference that the defendants] can be subjected to jurisdiction within the state.’ ” K-V Pharm. Co. v. J. Uriach & CIA S.A., 648 F.3d 588, 592-93 (8th Cir.2011) (quoting Dever v. Hentzen Coatings, Inc., 380 F.3d 1070, 1072 (8th Cir.2004)). When the defendants deny jurisdiction, the plaintiff bears the burden to prove facts supporting personal jurisdiction. Wells Dairy, Inc. v. Food Movers Int’l, Inc., 607 F.3d 515, 518 (8th Cir.), cert. denied, — U.S.-, 131 S.Ct. 472, 178 L.Ed.2d 289 (2010).

In a diversity case, such as here, personal jurisdiction over nonresident defendants exists “only to the extent permitted by the long-arm statute of the forum state and by the Due Process Clause.” Romak USA Inc. v. Rich, 384 F.3d 979, 984 (8th Cir. 2004) (quoting Dever, 380 F.3d at 1073). Under Iowa’s long-arm statute, “Iowa’s jurisdictional reach [extends] to the widest due process parameters allowed by the United States Constitution.” Wells Dairy, 607 F.3d at 518 (quoting Hammond v. Fla. Asset Fin. Corp., 695 N.W.2d 1, 5 (Iowa 2005) ). Thus, this Court need only consider “whether the exercise of personal jurisdiction comports with due process.” Id.

“The touchstone of the due-process analysis remains whether the defendants ha[ve] sufficient ‘minimum contacts with [the forum state] such that the maintenance of the suit does not offend traditional notions of fair play and substantial justice.’ ” Viasystems, Inc. v. EBM-Papst St. Georgen GmbH & Co., KG, 646 F.3d 589, 594 (8th Cir.2011) (third alteration in original) (quoting Int’l Shoe Co. v. Washington, 326 U.S. 310, 316, 66 S.Ct. 154, 90 L.Ed. 95 (1945)) (internal quotation marks omitted). “The defendants must have engaged in ‘some act by which the defendants purposefully availed] [themselves] of the privilege of conducting activities within the forum State, thus invoking the benefits and protections of its laws.’ ” K-V Pharm., 648 F.3d at 592 (quoting Burger King Corp. v. Rudzewicz, 471 U.S. 462, 475, 105 S.Ct. 2174, 85 L.Ed.2d 528 (1985)). “This purposeful-availment requirement is met where the ‘defendants] conduct and connection with the forum State are such that [they] should reasonably anticipate being haled into court there.” Id. (quoting Burger King, 471 U.S. at 474, 105 S.Ct. 2174).

“The minimum contacts necessary for due process may be the basis for either ‘general’ or ‘specific’ jurisdiction.” Pangaea, Inc. v. Flying Burrito LLC, 647 F.3d 741, 745 (8th Cir.2011) (quoting Johnson v. Arden, 614 F.3d 785, 794 (8th Cir.2010)). In the present case, FCStone alleges only [820]

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864 F. Supp. 2d 816, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 72653, 2012 WL 1889727, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/fcstone-llc-v-buckley-iasd-2012.