Frito-Lay North America, Inc. v. Medallion Foods, Inc.

867 F. Supp. 2d 859, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 45417, 2012 WL 1108427
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Texas
DecidedMarch 30, 2012
DocketCase No. 4:12-CV-74
StatusPublished
Cited by34 cases

This text of 867 F. Supp. 2d 859 (Frito-Lay North America, Inc. v. Medallion Foods, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Frito-Lay North America, Inc. v. Medallion Foods, Inc., 867 F. Supp. 2d 859, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 45417, 2012 WL 1108427 (E.D. Tex. 2012).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

AMOS L. MAZZANT, United States Magistrate Judge.

Pending before the Court is Defendants’ Motion to Dismiss Or, In the Alternative, To Transfer to the Eastern District of Arkansas (Dkt. # 16). Having considered the relevant pleadings, the Court is of the opinion that Defendants’ motion should be denied.

BACKGROUND1

Medallion Foods, Inc. (“Medallion”) is an Arkansas corporation with its principal place of business in Newport, Arkansas. It is a manufacturer of private-label food products, including corn-based snack foods. Ralcorp Holdings, Inc. (“Ralcorp”) is a Missouri corporation with its principal place of business in St. Louis, Missouri. Ralcorp is a holding company, and is Medallion’s parent company.

On February 8, 2012, Plaintiff sent a cease-and-desist letter to Defendants asserting that Defendants’ product, BOWLZ, infringed Plaintiffs patent and trade dress rights as to its product TOSTITOS SCOOPS!. The letter gave Defendants until 12:00 noon on February 10, 2012, to [864]*864comply. Defendants resisted Plaintiffs attempts at communication, and filed a complaint for declaratory relief in the Eastern District of Arkansas on February 10, 2012. Subsequently, Plaintiff filed its complaint in this Court on February 10, 2012 (Dkt. #1).

On March 20, 2012, Chief Judge J. Leon Holmes in the Eastern District of Arkansas denied Defendants’ pending motion to enjoin Plaintiff from pursuing the action before this Court and granted in part Plaintiffs motion to dismiss the Arkansas action (Dkt. #35, Ex. A). Chief Judge Holmes stayed the Arkansas action pending this Court’s ruling on personal jurisdiction and venue, and noted, “If the Eastern District of Texas decides that it has personal jurisdiction and denies the motion to transfer, the [Arkansas] action will be dismissed” (Dkt. # 35, Ex. A at 5).

On February 22, 2012, Defendants filed their Motion to Dismiss for Lack of Jurisdiction Or, In the Alternative, to Transfer to the Eastern District of Arkansas (Dkt. # 16). Plaintiff filed its Response in opposition on March 9, 2012 (Dkt. #31). On March 19, 2012, Defendants filed a Reply (Dkt. # 33). On March 27, 2012, Plaintiff filed a Sur-Reply (Dkt. # 37).

LEGAL STANDARDS

Personal Jurisdiction

In patent litigation, Federal Circuit law controls personal jurisdiction because the issue is “intimately involved in the substance of enforcement of the patent.” QR Spex, Inc. v. Motorola, Inc., 507 F.Supp.2d 650, 655 (E.D.Tex.2007) (citing Viam Corp. v. Iowa Export-Import Trading Co., 84 F.3d 424, 428 (Fed.Cir.1996)); Patent Rights Prot. Grp., LLC v. Video Gaming Techs., Inc., 603 F.3d 1364, 1368 (Fed.Cir.2010) (citing Akro Corp. v. Luker, 45 F.3d 1541, 1543 (Fed.Cir.1995)). “A federal court may exercise personal jurisdiction over a foreign defendant only if (1) the long-arm statute creates personal jurisdiction over the foreign defendant, and (2) the exercise of personal jurisdiction over that defendant is consistent with the due process guarantees of the U.S. Constitution.” Keranos, LLC v. Analog Devices, Inc., No. 2:10-CV-207, 2011 WL 4027427, at *8 (E.D.Tex. Sept. 12, 2011) (citing Patent Rights Prot. Grp., 603 F.3d at 1368-69). The Texas long-arm statute extends to the full extent permitted by the Due Process Clause. Religious Tech. Ctr. v. Liebreich, 339 F.3d 369, 373 (5th Cir.2003).

Thus, to establish that the Court has personal jurisdiction over Defendants, Plaintiff must show that: (1) each Defendant has purposefully availed itself of the benefits and protections of the forum state by establishing minimum contacts with the forum state; and (2) the exercise of jurisdiction over each Defendant does not offend traditional notions of fair play and substantial justice. Int’l Shoe Co. v. Washington, 326 U.S. 310, 316-20, 66 S.Ct. 154, 90 L.Ed. 95 (1945); Burger King Corp. v. Rudzewicz, 471 U.S. 462, 474-77, 105 S.Ct. 2174, 85 L.Ed.2d 528 (1985).

After a non-resident defendant files a motion to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction, the burden of establishing the district court’s jurisdiction lies with the party seeking to invoke the court’s jurisdiction. Alpine View Co. Ltd. v. Atlas Copco AB, 205 F.3d 208, 215 (5th Cir.2000). When, as here, no evidentiary hearing is conducted, “the party seeking to assert jurisdiction must present sufficient facts as to make out only a prima facie case supporting jurisdiction.” Id. (citation omitted); see Graphic Controls Corp. v. Utah Medical Products, Inc., 149 F.3d 1382, 1383 n. 1 (Fed.Cir.1998). When considering the motion to dismiss, the court must accept as true the plaintiffs uncontroverted allegations and resolve all factual disputes in favor of the plaintiff. Alpine [865]*865View Co., 205 F.3d at 215 (citations omitted).

“Minimum contacts” can be established though contacts sufficient to support the exercise of either general or specific jurisdiction. Viam Corp., 84 F.3d at 428; J. McIntyre Machinery, Ltd. v. Nicastro, — U.S. -, 131 S.Ct. 2780, 2787-88, 180 L.Ed.2d 765 (2011). General jurisdiction occurs when “a State exercises personal jurisdiction over a defendant in a suit not arising out of or related to the defendant’s contacts with the forum ...” Helicopteros Nacionales de Colombia, S.A. v. Hall, 466 U.S. 408, 414 n. 9, 104 S.Ct. 1868, 80 L.Ed.2d 404 (1984). General jurisdiction exists only when the defendant’s contacts with the State constitute “continuous and systematic” general contacts with the forum. Id. at 416, 104 S.Ct. 1868. “Random, fortuitous, or attenuated contacts are not sufficient to establish general jurisdiction.” Keranos, 2011 WL 4027427, at *9 (citing Red Wing Shoe Co., Inc. v. Hockerson-Halberstadt, Inc., 148 F.3d 1355, 1358 (Fed.Cir.1998)).

Specific jurisdiction exists where the plaintiff alleges a cause of action which grows out of or relates to a contact between the defendant and the forum state. Helicopteros, 466 U.S. at 414 n. 8, 104 S.Ct. 1868; McIntyre, 131 S.Ct. at 2787-88. “It is essential in each case that there be some act by which the defendant purposefully avails itself of the privilege of conducting activities within the forum state, thus invoking the benefits and protections of its laws.” Hanson v. Denckla, 357 U.S. 235, 253, 78 S.Ct.

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867 F. Supp. 2d 859, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 45417, 2012 WL 1108427, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/frito-lay-north-america-inc-v-medallion-foods-inc-txed-2012.