Hodges v. Furlong

883 F. Supp. 1524, 1995 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 2455, 1995 WL 85397
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. Alabama
DecidedFebruary 22, 1995
DocketCiv. A. No. 95-0029-AH-M
StatusPublished

This text of 883 F. Supp. 1524 (Hodges v. Furlong) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. Alabama primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Hodges v. Furlong, 883 F. Supp. 1524, 1995 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 2455, 1995 WL 85397 (S.D. Ala. 1995).

Opinion

ORDER

HOWARD, District Judge.

This matter is before the Court on the Motion to Dismiss for Lack of In Personam Jurisdiction [Doe. #2] filed by Defendants Louis Furlong and Marjorie Furlong (the “Furlongs”). Defendants move to dismiss the Complaint of Plaintiffs Billy A. Hodges and Judy Hodges (the “Hodges”) for lack of personal jurisdiction pursuant to Fed. R.Civ.P. 12(b)(2). The Court held a hearing on this matter on February 17, 1995.

For the reasons stated below the Court DENIES Defendants’ motion to dismiss and retains jurisdiction over this action.

PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

On November 4, 1994, Plaintiffs Hodges, residents of Fort Payne, Alabama, brought this action in the Circuit Court of Baldwin County, Alabama against the Furlongs, residents of the State of Florida. The action arises from the Hodges’ purchase of a vessel, the “GYPSY”, from the Furlongs. On January 12, 1995, the Furlongs removed this action to this Court basing federal jurisdiction on diversity of citizenship pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1331. In their Complaint, the Hodges allege that the Furlongs made false representations about the condition of the “GYPSY” and breached the contract between the parties for the sale of the boat.

STANDARD OF REVIEW

When a plaintiff is seeking to bring an out-of-state defendant into court, the plaintiff must state sufficient facts in the complaint to support a reasonable inference that the defendant can be subjected to jurisdiction within the state in which the court sits. When a defendant challenges a court’s assertion of personal jurisdiction and the district court does not conduct an evidentiary hearing on a motion to dismiss, the plaintiff must establish a prima facie case of personal jurisdiction. Madara v. Hall, 916 F.2d 1510, 1514 (11th Cir.1990). The plaintiff need only provide enough evidence to withstand a motion for judgment as a matter of law. Id. In assessing the motion to dismiss, to the extent the facts are uncontroverted, the court must accept the facts alleged in the complaint as true. Id. Where, the defendant’s affidavits conflict with the complaint, the court must construe all reasonable inferences in favor of the plaintiff. Id.

JURISDICTIONAL FACTS

The Hodges are residents of Fort Payne, Alabama. The Hodges purchased a boat trading magazine in Gulf Shores, Alabama and noticed an advertisement listing the yacht “GYPSY” for sale by the Furlongs. According to Judy Hodges, she and her husband called the Furlongs in Florida for information about the vessel. Mr. Furlong sent a drawing of “GYPSY”, a photograph of “GYPSY”, and a list of equipment and accommodations of the yacht to the Hodges in Alabama. Affidavit of Judy M. Hodges, ¶ 3. After receiving the information on the yacht, the Hodges called the Furlongs again for some additional information on the vessel. Id. at ¶ 4. Mrs. Hodges visited the Furlongs in Cocoa Beach, Florida to look at the “GYPSY”. On January 11, 1993, Mrs. Hodges called her husband and suggested to him that they enter into an agreement to purchase the vessel. Id. at ¶ 5-6. The terms of the agreement were negotiated and conducted at the Furlongs’s home in Cocoa Beach, Florida. Mrs. Hodges was with the Furlongs and Mr. Hodges communicated by telephone from Fort Payne, Alabama. Id. at ¶ 6. Mrs. Hodges and the Furlongs signed a Purchase [1527]*1527and Sale Agreement (the “Agreement”) calling for the Hodges to pay $87,000.00 for the “GYPSY”. The parties agreed that the sale of the vessel was subject to a “sea trial”. Purchase & Sales Agreement, ¶3A. The Agreement reflects that the parties agreed that the “GYPSY would be delivered by the Furlongs at the Hodges’s expense to Mobile Bay, Alabama, weather permitting, or to Panama City or Apalachicola, Florida, if the weather was poor. Id. ¶ 3F.

The Bill of Sale was executed on or about January 27,1993 by the Furlongs and sent to the Hodges in Alabama. Affidavit of Judy Hodges at ¶ 11. On June 11, 1993, before a sea trial had been performed, Mr. Furlong piloted and delivered the yacht to Fairhope, Alabama. He telephoned the Hodges and informed them that the sea trial could be conducted with him on June 12, 1993, but he left Alabama before then and the sea trial was not conducted. Id. at ¶ 14.

ANALYSIS

The United States Supreme Court has identified two types of personal jurisdiction, specific and general. Helicopteros Nacionales de Colombia, S.A v. Hall, 466 U.S. 408, 411-415 nn. 8 & 9, 104 S.Ct. 1868, 1870-72 nn. 8 & 9, 80 L.Ed.2d 404 (1984). Specific personal jurisdiction arises when the defendant’s contacts with the forum are related to the plaintiffs cause of action. Williams Elec. Co. v. Honeywell, Inc. 864 F.2d 389, 392 (11th Cir.1988) (per curiam). General jurisdiction applies when the forum has no direct interest in the underlying dispute, rather, the forum’s interest is a result of the defendant’s continuing and systematic contacts with the forum. Helicopteros, 466 U.S. at 414, 104 S.Ct. at 1872. This action involves a single contact with the forum state involving the delivery of the yacht, therefore, this is a specific personal jurisdiction question.

The determination of personal jurisdiction over a nonresident defendant requires a two-part analysis. Cable/Home Communication Corp. v. Network Productions, Inc., 902 F.2d 829, 856 (11th Cir.1990). First, the Court must examine the jurisdictional issue under the forum state’s long-arm statute. Id. at 866. If there is a basis for jurisdiction under the state statute, the Court must next determine whether sufficient “minimum contacts” exist to satisfy the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, so that “maintenance of the suit does not offend ‘traditional notions of fair play and substantial justice.’ ” International Shoe Co. v. Washington, 326 U.S. 310, 316, 66 S.Ct. 154, 158, 90 L.Ed. 95 (1945) (quoting Milliken v. Meyer, 311 U.S. 457, 463, 61 S.Ct. 339, 342, 85 L.Ed. 278 (1940)).

A. ALABAMAS LONG-ARM STATUTE

The Supreme Court of Alabama has interpreted Alabama’s Long-Arm Statute (Rule 4.2, Ala.R.Civ.P.) to be as “broad as the permissible limits of due process.” Alabama Waterproofing Co., Inc. v. Hanby, 431 So.2d 141, 145 (Ala.1983). In Alabama, a plaintiff may fulfill the Supreme Court’s two part analysis of personal jurisdiction by demonstrating that jurisdiction over the defendant does not violate constitutional due process. Olivier v. Merritt Dredging Co., 979 F.2d 827, 830 (11th Cir.), cert. denied sub nom. South Carolina Property & Casualty Ins. Guar. Ass’n v. Olivier, — U.S.-, 113 S.Ct.

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883 F. Supp. 1524, 1995 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 2455, 1995 WL 85397, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/hodges-v-furlong-alsd-1995.