Global Economic Resources, Inc. v. Swaminathan

389 S.W.3d 631, 2011 Ark. App. 349, 2011 WL 1784624, 2011 Ark. App. LEXIS 387
CourtCourt of Appeals of Arkansas
DecidedMay 11, 2011
DocketNo. CA 10-1263
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 389 S.W.3d 631 (Global Economic Resources, Inc. v. Swaminathan) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Arkansas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Global Economic Resources, Inc. v. Swaminathan, 389 S.W.3d 631, 2011 Ark. App. 349, 2011 WL 1784624, 2011 Ark. App. LEXIS 387 (Ark. Ct. App. 2011).

Opinion

JOHN B. ROBBINS, Judge.

11 This is the second appeal arising from this breach-of-contract action. In Global Economic Resources, Inc. v. Sabare SCM Solution, Inc., 2010 Ark. App. 139, 2010 WL 475349, delivered on February 11, 2010, we dismissed the first appeal for lack of a final, appealable order. The trial court subsequently entered a final, appeal-able order on March 11, 2010. Because appellant Global Economic Resources, Inc., did not file a timely notice of appeal from that order, we must dismiss this second appeal for lack of jurisdiction.

This case originated on November 17, 2008, when Global filed a complaint for breach of contract, seeking damages for unpaid consulting services it had allegedly provided under the contract. The named defendants were two individuals, Susin-dran Swaminathan and 12Venkataraman Melpakkam, doing business as Sabare SCM Solution, Inc. The answer to the original complaint was filed on December 31, 2008, asserting several defenses including the affirmative pleading that “at no times relevant to the allegations of the complaint, did either of the defendants act in an individual capacity or ‘do business as Sabare SCM Solution, Inc.’ ”

On February 11, 2009, Global filed an amended complaint with an incorporated Rule 41 motion to dismiss. The amended complaint added Sabare SCM Solution, Inc., a Georgia corporation, as a separate defendant. The incorporated Rule 41 motion stated that, pursuant to Rule 41(a), Global was dismissing its allegations against Swaminathan and Melpakkam without prejudice. On April 2, 2009, Sa-bare SCM Solution filed a pre-answer motion to dismiss, raising numerous defenses including that Arkansas lacked personal jurisdiction over it. On June 17, 2009, the trial court entered an order dismissing, with prejudice, Global’s complaint against Sabare SCM Solution for lack of personal jurisdiction.

Global appealed from the order entered on June 17, 2009, contending that the trial court “erred in dismissing the breach of contract action for lack of personal jurisdiction when the appellee traveled to Arkansas to negotiate and sign the contract.” However, we dismissed that first appeal for lack of a final order because, while Global had filed a Rule 41 motion to dismiss the individual defendants, there was no order from the trial court dismissing those defendants from the case. See Global, supra.

After we dismissed the first appeal, Global filed a second amended complaint on February 17, 2010. That complaint again named as defendants Swaminathan, Melpakkam, Rand Sabare SCM Solution. In addition, the second amended complaint added Ganesh Kumar and Sabare USA, Inc., as defendants. On the same day, Global filed with the trial court a “withdrawal of Rule 41 motion to dismiss,” wherein it asserted, “No order entering that motion was ever entered, and the Plaintiff hereby withdraws that motion as it intends to proceed with its claim against those two defendants.” On March 9, 2010, Sabare SCM Solution filed a Rule 12(f) motion to strike, requesting that all claims against it be struck from the second amended complaint because Sabare SCM Solution had already been dismissed due to lack of personal jurisdiction. Also on March 9, 2010, Swaminathan and Melpak-kam answered the second amended complaint, raising multiple defenses including lack of personal jurisdiction.

On March 11, 2010, the trial court entered the following order:

1. That the Court has jurisdiction of the parties and subject matter in this cause of action.
2. That Global Economic Resources, Inc.’s (Plaintiffs) Rule 41 Motion to Dismiss Swaminathan and Melpak-kam, filed on or about February 2009 is hereby granted. This Court’s previous ruling that plaintiff has failed to establish personal jurisdiction over Sabare USA, Inc., d/b/a Sabare SCM Solution, Inc., and Sa-bare SCM Solution, Inc., continues to be this Court’s order.
3. That pursuant to Ark. R. Civ. P. 12(f) this Court further orders that all references to Sabare SCM shall be stricken from plaintiffs second amended complaint.

Note that this order contains a misstatement in that Sabare USA was not yet a party and thus was not dismissed by the trial court’s previous ruling issued on June 17, 2009. For reasons discussed later in this opinion, the March 11, 2010 order, was the final order from which Global should have, but did not, timely appeal.

14After the final order was entered, Global purported to serve a summons on Sabare USA on March 23, 2010. On April 20, 2010, Sabare USA filed a motion to quash the summons, arguing that the named but unserved parties, including Sa-bare USA, had been dismissed by the trial court’s March 11, 2010, order, pursuant to Ark. R. Civ. P. 54(b)(5). On April 26, 2010, Global filed a “Response to motion to quash and Rule 60 motion to amend order.” In that motion, Global raised no arguments in response to Sabare USA’s motion to quash, but merely asked that it be denied. Global raised the following specifics on its Rule 60 motion:

1. Under Rule 60(a) this Court may amend an order to correct errors, mistakes or prevent the miscarriage of justice within 90 days of the order having been filed with the Clerk’s Office.
2. On March 11, 2010 this Court entered an order granting the Plaintiffs Rule 41 Motion to dismiss Swaminathan and Melpakkam filed on February 9, 2009.
3. The above order was improper as the motion was withdrawn by the Plaintiff on February 17, 2010. The Plaintiff stated it was withdrawn for the reason it desired to continue its claim against the defendants as was its right.
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9. The above order striking the Second Amended Complaint against Defendants Swaminathan and Melpakkam should be dismissed as an error, mistake, or to prevent a miscarriage of justice. The Order was filed on an issue not pending before the Court, without notice and without hearing, thus denying the Plaintiff any due process on the issue. The order is in error, was a mistake, and if not amended would create a miscarriage of justice.

On September 30, 2010, the trial court entered an amended final order reaffirming its March 11, 2010, order, and denying any relief sought by Global under Ark. R. Civ. P. 60(a). That order stated that the dismissal of Swaminathan and Melpakkam continued to be 15the court’s order and that “[t]his court does not find that it was an error, mistake, or miscarriage of justice for this court to rule upon motions brought before it.” On October 6, 2010, the trial court entered an “amended amended final order” containing the same language as the September 30, 2010 order, but correcting an erroneous attorney-service-name listing. On October 25, 2010, Global filed its notice of appeal purporting to appeal from the order entered October 6, 2010.

In this appeal, Global argues that the trial court erred in dismissing Sabare SCM Solution and Sabare USA for lack of personal jurisdiction. Global contends that both of those defendants have sufficient contacts with this State such that Arkansas has personal jurisdiction over them. However, we cannot reach the merits of Global’s argument because we lack jurisdiction to hear this appeal.

Pursuant to Ark. R.App. P.-Civ.

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Bluebook (online)
389 S.W.3d 631, 2011 Ark. App. 349, 2011 WL 1784624, 2011 Ark. App. LEXIS 387, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/global-economic-resources-inc-v-swaminathan-arkctapp-2011.