Hitachi Data Sys. Credit Corp. v. Precision Discovery, Inc.

331 F. Supp. 3d 130
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. Illinois
DecidedSeptember 7, 2018
Docket17-CV-6851 (SHS)
StatusPublished
Cited by15 cases

This text of 331 F. Supp. 3d 130 (Hitachi Data Sys. Credit Corp. v. Precision Discovery, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. Illinois primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Hitachi Data Sys. Credit Corp. v. Precision Discovery, Inc., 331 F. Supp. 3d 130 (S.D. Ill. 2018).

Opinion

Even assuming that Precision is correct in its argument that the requirements of New York law are satisfied by the third-party defendants' business activities in New York, Precision has not made sufficient allegations to support the notion that an assertion of general jurisdiction here would comply with due process requirements post- Daimler . It is undisputed that neither Cold Creek nor Hitachi Vantara is incorporated in New York, and that neither corporation has its principal place of business in New York. Cold Creek is incorporated in and has its principal place of business in Colorado. Am. Third-Party Compl. ¶ 23. Hitachi Vantara is incorporated in Delaware and has its principal place of business in California. Am. Third-Party Compl. ¶ 14.

The allegations by Precision in its third-party complaint against Cold Creek regarding Cold Creek's contacts in New York are merely that Cold Creek did business with Precision while knowing that Precision's headquarters were located in New York; that Precision paid invoices to Cold Creek from its offices in New York; and that Cold Creek "was availing itself of business transactions occurring in New York." Am. Third-Party Compl. ¶¶ 24, 28, 32, 33. These allegations are patently insufficient to add up to the "exceptional case" required by Daimler . Indeed, they are barely sufficient to establish that Cold Creek regularly does business in New York.

As to Hitachi Vantara, Precision alleges that Hitachi Vantara is registered to do business in New York, maintains an office in New York, and does "extensive business" in the state. Am. Third-Party Compl. ¶¶ 18-19. While these allegations are more substantial than those asserted with regard to Cold Creek, they are still not enough to suggest that the corporation's activities in New York are so significant as to constitute the "exceptional case" contemplated by Daimler .

As the Second Circuit has explained, "when a corporation is neither incorporated nor maintains its principal place of business in a state, mere contacts, no matter how 'systematic and continuous,' are extraordinarily unlikely to add up to *142an 'exceptional case.' " Brown v. Lockheed Martin Corp. , 814 F.3d 619, 629 (2d Cir. 2016). Courts have often noted that allegations similar to those Precision makes here - particularly in regard to maintaining an office in New York and registering to do business in the state - are not sufficient to provide general jurisdiction after Daimler . See, e.g., Henkin v. Gibraltar Private Bank & Trust Co. , CV 16-5452, 2018 WL 557866, at *3 (E.D.N.Y. Jan. 22, 2018) (finding that maintenance of an office in New York was not sufficient to create an exceptional case under Daimler ); Sae Han Sheet Co., Ltd. v. Eastman Chemical Corp. , 17 Civ. 2734, 2017 WL 4769394, at *3-*6 (S.D.N.Y. Oct. 19, 2017) (finding that registering to do business in New York State does not amount to consent to general jurisdiction, and citing cases); see also Gucci America, Inc. v. Weixing Li , 768 F. 3d 122, 135 (2d Cir. 2014) (no general personal jurisdiction over a bank with branch offices in the forum but incorporated and headquartered elsewhere).

Finally, Precision's allegation that "[u]pon information and belief, [Hitachi Vantara] conducts extensive business in the state of New York," Am. Third-Party Compl. ¶ 18, is both vague and conclusory. Even if this were not the case, as explained above, evidence that a corporation which is neither incorporated nor headquartered in a state does business in that state is generally not enough to subject the corporation to general jurisdiction there. Rather, there must be something exceptional about a corporation's connection to that state that places the corporation "at home" there. Precision has made no allegation of any such exceptional connection here. Therefore, to assert general jurisdiction over Hitachi Vantara would violate the due process principles set forth in Daimler .

2. Specific Jurisdiction

Although neither Hitachi Vantara nor Cold Creek can be fairly described as at home in New York, and thus the third-party defendants are not subject to general jurisdiction in the state, Precision may still bring its third-party complaint against them in this District if they are nonetheless subject to specific jurisdiction in New York. For the reasons below, the Court finds that they are not.

In order for a court to assert specific jurisdiction over a defendant, due process requires that "the defendant's suit-related conduct must create a substantial connection with the forum State." Walden v. Fiore , 571 U.S. 277, 284, 134 S.Ct. 1115, 188 L.Ed.2d 12 (2014). Importantly, this substantial connection must be created by the actions of the defendant seeking to avoid the assertion of jurisdiction - meaning, in this case, the requisite connections must have been created by Hitachi Vantara and Cold Creek, rather than by Precision. See Walden , 571 U.S. at 284, 134 S.Ct. 1115. Also important is the requirement that the contacts must be "with the forum State itself, not ... with persons who reside there." Id. at 285, 134 S.Ct. 1115. Here, Precision seeks to base specific personal jurisdiction over Hitachi Vantara and Cold Creek in New York largely on the fact that Precision - the plaintiff on this third-party complaint - has its headquarters in New York. But the Supreme Court has clearly held that in order for specific jurisdiction to apply, "the plaintiff cannot be the only link between the defendant and the forum." Id. This ensures that defendants such as Hitachi Vantara and Cold Creek "will not be haled into a jurisdiction solely as a result of random, fortuitous, or attenuated contacts" with that jurisdiction.

*143Burger King Corp. v. Rudzewicz , 471 U.S. 462, 475, 105 S.Ct. 2174,

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Bluebook (online)
331 F. Supp. 3d 130, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/hitachi-data-sys-credit-corp-v-precision-discovery-inc-ilsd-2018.