J & J Services Ventures Corp. v. S.C.S. of Kansas City, Inc.

250 F.R.D. 441, 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 29643, 2008 WL 958016
CourtDistrict Court, D. South Dakota
DecidedApril 8, 2008
DocketNo. CIV 07-1010
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 250 F.R.D. 441 (J & J Services Ventures Corp. v. S.C.S. of Kansas City, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. South Dakota primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
J & J Services Ventures Corp. v. S.C.S. of Kansas City, Inc., 250 F.R.D. 441, 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 29643, 2008 WL 958016 (D.S.D. 2008).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

CHARLES B. KORNMANN, District Judge.

INTRODUCTION

Plaintiffs instituted this action in South Dakota Circuit Court for breach of contract alleging that defendants failed to pay plaintiff for hurricane disaster clean-up it performed in Florida and Alabama. Defendants removed the action to the United States District Court based upon diversity of citizenship on June 7, 2007. Defendants filed a motion to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction or, in the alternative, to change venue to the United States District Court for the Western District of Missouri.

DECISION

I. Jurisdiction.

“To survive a motion to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction, the plaintiff bears the [443]*443burden of demonstrating, by a prima facie showing, that personal jurisdiction exists.” Stevens v. Redwing, 146 F.3d 538, 543 (8th Cir.1998). “To survive a motion to dismiss, the plaintiff must state sufficient facts in the complaint to support a reasonable inference that defendants may be subjected to jurisdiction in the forum state.” Steinbuch v. Cutler, 518 F.3d 580, 585 (8th Cir.2008). “[T]he facts adduced in a Rule 12(b)(2) Motion to Dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction must be viewed in the light most favorable to the party opposing the motion.” Radaszewski by Radaszewski v. Telecom Corp., 981 F.2d 305, 310 (8th Cir.1992).

This is the same standard as the one we apply on motions for summary judgment under Rule 56. We look at the facts in the light most favorable to the party opposing the motion, give him the benefit of all reasonable inferences, and grant the motion only if there is no genuine issue as to any material fact, so that the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. So here, though the motion is captioned under Rule 12(b)(2) rather than under Rule 56, the analytical process is the same as that used on a motion for summary judgment. We look at the facts relevant to the issue of jurisdiction in the light most favorable to [the plaintiff], give him the benefit of all reasonable inferences from these facts, and deny the motion to dismiss if the record, viewed in this way, raises any genuine issue of fact material to the issue of jurisdiction.

Radaszewski by Radaszewski v. Telecom Corp., 981 F.2d at 310.

‘We approach our analysis of personal jurisdiction on two levels, first examining whether the exercise of jurisdiction is proper under the forum state’s long-arm statute.' If the activities of the non-resident defendant satisfy the statute’s requirements, we then address whether the exercise of personal jurisdiction comports with due process.” Dakota Industries, Inc. v. Dakota Sportswear, Inc., 946 F.2d at 1387-1388. South Dakota’s long-arm statute, S.D.C.L. § 15-7-2, provides, inter alia:

Any person is subject to the jurisdiction of the courts of this state as to any cause of action arising from the doing personally, through any employee, through an agent or through a subsidiary, of any of the following acts:
(I) The transaction of any business within the state;

* ;¡i *

(II) Commencing or participating in negotiations, mediation, arbitration or litigation involving subject matter located in whole or in part within the state.

The South Dakota long arm statute confers jurisdiction to the fullest extent allowed by the Due Process Clause of the United States Constitution. Bell Paper Box, Inc. v. Trans Western Polymers, Inc., 53 F.3d 920, 921 (8th Cir.1995). This Court must therefore address only the question whether the exercise of personal jurisdiction in this case satisfies due process. Dakota Industries v. Ever Best Ltd., 28 F.3d 910, 914 (8th Cir.1994).

The United States Supreme Court has held that “due process requires only that in order to subject a defendant to a judgment in personam, if he be not present within the territory of the forum, he have certain minimum contacts with it such that the 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, 343, 85 L.Ed. 278 (1940)). “A defendant must have fair warning that his activities may result in his being haled into court in a particular jurisdiction and must invoke the benefits and protections of that jurisdiction by purposely availing himself of the privilege of conducting those activities.” Porter v. Berall, 293 F.3d 1073, 1075 (8th Cir.2002).

Where a forum seeks to assert specific jurisdiction over an out-of-state defendant who has not consented to suit there, this fair warning requirement is satisfied if the defendant has purposefully directed his activities at residents of the forum and the litigation results from alleged injuries that arise out of or relate to those activities.

Burger King Corp. v. Rudzewicz, 471 U.S. 462, 472, 105 S.Ct. 2174, 2182, 85 L.Ed.2d 528 [444]*444(1985) (citations omitted). “The constitutional touchstone remains whether the defendant purposefully established minimum contacts in the forum State.” Burger King v. Rudzew-icz, 471 U.S. at 474, 105 S.Ct. at 2183 (internal citations and quotations omitted).

As we examine the question of personal jurisdiction, we must look at two theories, the one dealing with general jurisdiction and the other dealing with specific jurisdiction. Helicopteros Nacionales de Colombia, S.A. v. Hall, 466 U.S. 408, 414-15, 104 S.Ct. 1868, 80 L.Ed.2d 404 (1984).

A state may exercise general jurisdiction if a defendant has carried on in the forum state a continuous and systematic, even if limited, part of its general business; in such circumstances the alleged injury need not have any connection with the forum state. Keeton v. Hustler Magazine, Inc., 465 U.S. 770, 779, 104 S.Ct. 1473, 79 L.Ed.2d 790 (1984). The plaintiff must make a prima facie showing, however, that the defendant’s contacts were not “random,” “fortuitous,” or “attenuated.” Id. at 774, 465 U.S. 770, 104 S.Ct. 1473, 79 L.Ed.2d 790. Specific jurisdiction on the other hand is appropriate only if the injury giving rise to the lawsuit occurred within or had some connection to the forum state, meaning that the defendant purposely directed its activities at the forum state and the claim arose out of or relates to those activities.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
250 F.R.D. 441, 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 29643, 2008 WL 958016, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/j-j-services-ventures-corp-v-scs-of-kansas-city-inc-sdd-2008.