John Corigliano v. Classic Motor Inc

611 F. App'x 77
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Third Circuit
DecidedMay 11, 2015
Docket14-3586
StatusUnpublished
Cited by10 cases

This text of 611 F. App'x 77 (John Corigliano v. Classic Motor Inc) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
John Corigliano v. Classic Motor Inc, 611 F. App'x 77 (3d Cir. 2015).

Opinion

OPINION *

PER CURIAM.

Appellant, John Corigliano, seeks review of the District Court judgment dismissing his complaint for lack of jurisdiction. He also requests that his case be transferred to the Southern District of California. For the reasons set forth below, we will remand to the District Court to consider the whether it may be in the interest of justice to transfer this case.

I.

We write primarily for the benefit of the parties and set forth only the essential facts here. In 2011, Corigliano, a collector of rare cars and a resident of New Jersey, purchased a Rolls Royce from Classic Motor, a California dealership owned by Fadi Elias. Elias and Corigliano knew each other before the transaction because Co-rigliano had previously purchased a car from Classic in 2010. Elias contacted Co-rigliano to ask his advice about a damaged Rolls Royce Elias was considering taking in trade from another customer. Elias ended up sending photographs of the car to Corigliano, who decided to buy it. Co-rigliano paid the purchase price in a series of wire transfers in March and April of 2011. The parties disagree • whether Co-rigliano traveled to California in April, but there is no dispute that he traveled to California in June to inspect the car and take care of matters related to the transaction. The car remained in California at a repair shop. The parties eventually got into a disagreement about the extent of repairs necessary on the damaged vehicle and responsibility for the cost of those repairs.

*79 Corigliano sued Elias and Classic in the District of New Jersey. Elias and Classic moved to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction or, in the alternative, to transfer the case to the Central District of California as a more convenient forum for the litigation under 28 U.S.C. § 1404(a). Co-rigliano resisted both the motion to dismiss and the request for transfer. ■ The District Court granted Elias and Classic’s motion to dismiss the complaint for lack of personal jurisdiction and declined to reach the issue of transfer in light of the dismissal. Corigliano appealed.

II.

The District Court had subject matter jurisdiction over this action pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1382. We have appellate jurisdiction over this matter under 28 U.S.C. § 1291. “To the extent that the district court made factual findings, a clearly erroneous standard of review applies. However, the district court’s decision that it possessed personal jurisdiction over the defendants is an issue of law of which our review is plenary.” Mellon Bank (E.) PSFS, Nat’l Ass’n v. Farino, 960 F.2d 1217, 1220-21 (3d Cir.1992) (citations omitted). Generally, a plaintiff bears the burden of proving personal jurisdiction by a preponderance of the evidence. Control Screening LLC v. Tech. Application &. Prod. Co., 687 F.3d 163, 167 (3d Cir.2012). “If the district court does not hold an evidentiary hearing, the plaintiff[] need only establish a prima facie case of personal jurisdiction.” Metcalfe v. Renaissance Marine, Inc., 566 F.3d 324, 330 (3d Cir.2009) (quotation marks omitted). The District Court did not conduct an eviden-tiary hearing on the question of personal jurisdiction.

“A district court sitting in diversity may assert personal jurisdiction over a nonresident defendant to the extent allowed under the law of the forum state.” Id. We have recognized that “New Jersey’s long-arm statute provides for jurisdiction coextensive with the due process requirements of the United States Constitution.” Miller Yacht Sales, Inc. v. Smith, 384 F.3d 93, 96 (3d Cir.2004).

Two types of personal jurisdiction exist: general and specific. ' General jurisdiction exists when the plaintiffs claim arises out of the defendant’s “continuous and systematic” contacts with the forum state. Helicopteros Nacionales de Colombia, S.A. v. Hall, 466 U.S. 408, 414-16, 104 S.Ct. 1868, 80 L.Ed.2d 404 (1984). General jurisdiction exists even if the cause of action is unrelated to the defendant’s activities in the forum state. Id. at 414, 104 S.Ct. 1868. Specific jurisdiction exists when the plaintiffs claim arises out of the defendant’s activities within the forum such that the defendant could reasonably anticipate being haled into' the state’s courts. Vetrotex Certainteed Corp. v. Consol. Fiber Glass Prods. Co., 75 F.3d 147, 151 (3d Cir.1996).

The District Court correctly determined that Classic Motor’s contacts with New Jersey, as alleged by Corigliano, are insufficient to establish general jurisdiction. See Provident Nat’l Bank v. Cal. Fed. Sav. & Loan Ass’n, 819 F.2d 434, 437 (3d Cir.1987) (“The nonresident’s contacts to the forum must be continuous and substantial.”). On appeal, Corigliano limited his argument primarily to the facts related to the District Court’s determination that it could not exercise specific jurisdiction over Elias and Classic Motor.

The District Court properly found that Corigliano failed to meet his burden to show that Elias and Classic are subject to specific jurisdiction in the District of New Jersey. To prove specific jurisdiction, the plaintiff must show that the defendant has “purposefully directed [its] ac *80 tivities” at the forum. Burger King Corp. v. Rudzewicz, 471 U.S. 462, 472, 105 S.Ct. 2174, 85 L.Ed.2d 528 (1985). Second, the litigation must “arise out of or relate” to at least one of those activities. Id.; see also Grimes v. Vitalink Commc’ns Corp., 17 F.3d 1553, 1559 (3d Cir.1994). If these two requirements are met, the court then considers whether the exercise of jurisdiction would “comport with fair play and substantial justice.” Burger King, 471 U.S. at 476, 105 S.Ct. 2174 (quotation marks omitted).

Physical entrance is not required to satisfy the first prong of the specific jurisdiction test. Id.; Miller Yacht Sales, 384 F.3d at 100 (finding that mail and communications sent by defendant into a forum state may count towards minimum contacts in specific jurisdiction analysis).

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Bluebook (online)
611 F. App'x 77, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/john-corigliano-v-classic-motor-inc-ca3-2015.