Jensen v. Jensen

242 Cal. Rptr. 3d 832, 31 Cal. App. 5th 682
CourtCalifornia Court of Appeal, 5th District
DecidedJanuary 24, 2019
Docket2d Civil No. B289611
StatusPublished

This text of 242 Cal. Rptr. 3d 832 (Jensen v. Jensen) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering California Court of Appeal, 5th District primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Jensen v. Jensen, 242 Cal. Rptr. 3d 832, 31 Cal. App. 5th 682 (Cal. Ct. App. 2019).

Opinion

YEGAN, J.

*684Kari Jensen appeals the trial court's order quashing service of a summons and cross-complaint on her sister, Trine Jensen. Trine, a resident of Utah, is the guardian ad litem for their elderly mother, Grethe Jensen. Kari's cross-complaint attempted to allege a claim against Trine in her individual capacity and not in her capacity as Grethe's guardian ad litem. In late 2016, when Grethe was 89 years old, she sold a house she owned in a Ventura retirement community and bought another *834house with Kari as joint tenants. Trine traveled to California and moved Grethe to Utah, where she now lives in a "memory care" facility. After the move to Utah, Grethe filed a lawsuit in Ventura against Kari, for the partition by sale of the real property they own as joint tenants and for damages on tort theories including financial elder abuse. The Ventura County Superior Court granted Trine's application to be appointed guardian ad litem for Grethe. Kari filed a cross-complaint against Trine for intentional interference with prospective economic advantage. Trine moved to quash service of the summons on the ground that California lacks personal jurisdiction over her. The trial court granted that motion. Kari appeals. We affirm.

Facts and Procedural History

Grethe's complaint alleges that Kari used undue influence to convince Grethe to sell her home in a gated retirement community and buy a different *685house in Ventura as a joint tenant with Kari. Kari told Grethe she would become homeless without Grethe's financial assistance and that she would take care of Grethe. Grethe sold her house and the two used the sales proceeds to purchase a new house. They financed a portion of the purchase price with a secured, thirty-year note which Grethe co-signed.

Grethe lived in the new house while it was being renovated. Her complaint alleges that she "was confined to a few rooms all day. Her life's possessions were shoved into the garage, and she lived in a construction zone inundated with noise and dust all day. Because the kitchen was torn up, [Grethe's] 'kitchen' consisted of a coffee maker on an end table outside her bedroom door."

Of course, the new living arrangement was not successful. In January 2017, Grethe walked away from the house and was found "wandering aimlessly down the street in her old ... neighborhood in a rainstorm, holding a sack of clothing under one arm, and her dog under her other arm." Trine traveled to California, packed up Grethe's belongings and moved her to Utah to live with Trine and her extended family.

Once Grethe was in Utah, she gave Trine power of attorney over her financial affairs and healthcare, designated Trine in her will as the personal representative of her estate and appointed Trine the trustee of her living trust. She also amended her living trust to omit Kari.

In late March 2017, about three months after she moved to Utah, Grethe recorded a declaration severing the joint tenancy. In May, she filed this lawsuit, to partition by sale the real property she had purchased with Kari. In late December 2017, Trine filed an application in the Ventura County Superior Court to be appointed Grethe's guardian ad litem. The application was granted.

Kari denies the allegations in Grethe's complaint. She alleges Grethe was never "confined" in the new house. Instead, the areas under renovation were blocked off for her safety. Kari also filed a cross-complaint against Trine in her individual capacity, alleging a cause of action for intentional interference with prospective economic advantage. The cross-complaint alleges Trine took advantage of Grethe's advancing dementia and fragile health to coerce her into severing the joint tenancy. Trine filed a motion to quash service of the summons and cross-complaint on the ground that California lacked personal jurisdiction over her as an individual. The trial court agreed and granted the motion.

*686Contentions

Kari contends the trial court erred when it found a lack of personal jurisdiction over *835Trine, because Trine purposefully availed herself of the protections and benefits of California law when she applied, in a California court, to be appointed Grethe's guardian ad litem. Trine contends her only contacts with California relate to Grethe's protection and that, as an individual, she lacks the requisite minimum contacts with California to justify its exercise of jurisdiction over her.

Discussion

"When a defendant moves to quash service of process on jurisdictional grounds, the plaintiff has the initial burden of demonstrating facts justifying the exercise of jurisdiction. [Citation.] Once facts showing minimum contacts with the forum state are established, however, it becomes the defendant's burden to demonstrate that the exercise of jurisdiction would be unreasonable. [Citation.] ... When no conflict in the evidence exists ..., the question of jurisdiction is purely one of law and the reviewing court engages in an independent review of the record. [Citation.]" ( Vons Companies , Inc. v. Seabest Foods , Inc. (1996) 14 Cal.4th 434, 449, 58 Cal.Rptr.2d 899, 926 P.2d 1085 ( Vons ).)

"California courts may exercise personal jurisdiction on any basis consistent with the Constitutions of California and the United States. [Citation.] The exercise of jurisdiction over a nonresident defendant comports with these Constitutions 'if the defendant has such minimum contacts with the state that the assertion of jurisdiction does not violate " 'traditional notions of fair play and substantial justice.' " ' [Citations.]" ( Pavlovich v. Superior Court (2002) 29 Cal.4th 262, 268, 127 Cal.Rptr.2d 329, 58 P.3d 2 ( Pavlovich ).)

The parties agree Trine is not subject to the general jurisdiction of California because she does not have substantial, continuous and systematic contacts with the state. ( Perkins v. Benguet Consol. Mining Co. (1952) 342 U.S. 437, 445-446, 72 S.Ct. 413

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Related

Perkins v. Benguet Consolidated Mining Co.
342 U.S. 437 (Supreme Court, 1952)
Helicopteros Nacionales De Colombia, S. A. v. Hall
466 U.S. 408 (Supreme Court, 1984)
Vons Companies, Inc. v. Seabest Foods, Inc.
926 P.2d 1085 (California Supreme Court, 1996)
Edmunds v. Superior Court
24 Cal. App. 4th 221 (California Court of Appeal, 1994)
Pavlovich v. Superior Court
58 P.3d 2 (California Supreme Court, 2002)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
242 Cal. Rptr. 3d 832, 31 Cal. App. 5th 682, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/jensen-v-jensen-calctapp5d-2019.