Jackie L. Sullivan v. A. W. Chesterton, Inc. (In re Asbestos Products Liability Litigation (No. VI))

384 F. Supp. 3d 532
District Court, E.D. Pennsylvania·Decided June 6, 2019·No. Consolidated Under MDL DOCKET NO. 875; Case No. 18-3622·Published·Cited by 23 cases

Opinion

EDUARDO C. ROBRENO, District Judge.

Before the Court is the motion to dismiss filed by Defendant Huntington Ingalls Incorporated ("HIC"). The Court will grant the motion as it concludes that it lacks personal jurisdiction over HIC.

In 2014, the Supreme Court decided the case of Daimler AG v. Bauman 1 which brought about a sea change in the jurisprudence of exercising general personal jurisdiction over a foreign corporation. Daimler held that under the Due Process Clause, subjecting a foreign corporation to general jurisdiction in every state in which it "engages in a substantial, continuous, and systematic course of business" was "unacceptably grasping." Under Daimler, the exercise of general jurisdiction over a foreign defendant (except in extraordinary circumstances) was limited to where the corporation was "at home," namely, the forums in which the foreign corporation is incorporated and where it maintains its principal place of business.

Pennsylvania has long had a statute which requires a foreign corporation wishing to do business in Pennsylvania to register in Pennsylvania. Correspondingly, Pennsylvania law provides that such registration constitutes a sufficient basis for the exercise of general personal jurisdiction over the foreign corporation.

Federal and state courts in Pennsylvania have struggled to divine the applicability of Daimler to the Pennsylvania registration scheme with mixed results. Building on that jurisprudence, this Court concludes that: (1) the Pennsylvania statutory scheme that requires foreign corporations to register to do business and, therefore, to consent to general personal jurisdiction in Pennsylvania, offends the Due Process Clause and is unconstitutional; and (2) the Third Circuit's pre- Daimler decision in Bane v. Netlink, Inc.,2 finding that, by registering to do business in Pennsylvania, a foreign corporation consents to general personal jurisdiction, is irretrievably irreconcilable with the teachings of Daimler, and can no longer stand.

I. FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

Plaintiff Jackie Sullivan brought this asbestos personal injury action against 48 Defendants in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas on July 25, 2018. She alleges that decedent John Sullivan was exposed *535to asbestos during his Naval service from October 1967 through January 1980. Plaintiff further alleges that this asbestos exposure caused Sullivan to develop lung cancer which ultimately led to his death. HIC removed the action on August 22, 2018 pursuant to the Federal Officer Removal Statute, 28 U.S.C § 1442.3

Regarding the allegations against HIC, Plaintiff alleges that in 1973, Sullivan was assigned to the U.S.S. Blakely while serving in the Navy as a machinist mate. Plaintiff further contends that an alleged predecessor of HIC, Avondale Shipyard, built the Blakely in Westwego, Louisiana and "designed its ship to contain asbestos and despite the ability to know of and warn of the hazards of asbestos failed to do so." Am. Compl. 8-9 (ECF No. 100). It is undisputed that Sullivan's alleged asbestos exposure aboard the Blakely did not occur in Pennsylvania.4 Most importantly for the purposes of this case, HIC is incorporated and has its principal place of business in Virginia, not in Pennsylvania. Plaintiff is also a citizen of Virginia.

II. LEGAL STANDARD

Under Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(2), in response to a complaint, a defendant may assert as a defense that the court lacks personal jurisdiction over it. When a defendant raises this defense, "the burden falls upon the plaintiff to come forward with sufficient facts to establish that jurisdiction is proper." Mellon Bank (E.) PSFS, Nat'l Ass'n v. Farino, 960 F.2d 1217, 1223 (3d Cir. 1992) (citing Carteret Sav. Bank v. Shushan, 954 F.2d 141, 146 (3d Cir. 1992) ). However, when reviewing such a motion, the court "must accept all of the plaintiff's allegations as true and construe disputed facts in favor of the plaintiff." Carteret Sav. Bank, 954 F.2d at 142 n.1. "Personal jurisdiction [ ] is 'an essential element of the jurisdiction of a district ... court,' without which the court is 'powerless to proceed to an adjudication.' " Ruhrgas AG v. Marathon Oil Co., 526 U.S. 574, 584, 119 S.Ct. 1563, 143 L.Ed.2d 760 (1999) (quoting Emp'rs Reinsurance Corp. v. Bryant, 299 U.S. 374, 382, 57 S.Ct. 273, 81 L.Ed. 289 (1937) ).

III. DISCUSSION

A. The Pennsylvania Business Registration Statutory Scheme and Federal Due Process Guarantees

Plaintiff contends that this Court has general personal jurisdiction over HIC pursuant to 15 Pa.C.S. § 411 and 42 Pa.C.S. § 5301 because HIC and its alleged predecessors registered to do business in Pennsylvania at various points of time.5

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Jackie L. Sullivan v. A. W. Chesterton, Inc. (In re Asbestos Products Liability Litigation (No. VI)), 384 F. Supp. 3d 532 (E.D. Pa. 2019).

384 F. Supp. 3d 532 (Jackie L. Sullivan v. A. W. Chesterton, Inc. (In re Asbestos Products Liability Litigation (No. VI))) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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