Jones v. 3M Co.

107 F.R.D. 202
District Court, D. New Mexico·Decided November 9, 1984·No. Civ. No. 82-1393-JB·Published·Cited by 8 cases

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

BURCIAGA, District Judge.

THIS MATTER comes before the Court on the motion of Defendants Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center [Sloan-Kettering] and Dr. Basil Hilaris [Hilaris] to dismiss and quash service of process for lack of personal jurisdiction and the motion of Defendant 3M Company to dismiss Plaintiff Dan Swallows’ Complaint in Joinder. Defendants Sloan-Kettering and Hilaris have joined in the motion to dismiss the Complaint in Joinder. The Court, having considered the memoranda filed by the parties, and being otherwise fully advised in the premises, finds that the Motion to Dismiss and Quash Service of Process is well taken and should be granted, that the Motion to Dismiss the Complaint in Joinder is not well taken and should be denied, and that the Plaintiff in Joinder, Dan Swallows, should be given 20 days to amend the Complaint in Joinder to specify that he is the Plaintiff bringing the Complaint.

MOTION TO DISMISS AND QUASH SERVICE

This is the second time the question of personal jurisdiction over these Defendants has come before the Court. The Court denied the first motion to dismiss and to quash service of process, finding that the allegations of the Plaintiffs’ Complaint made out a prima facie case for assertion of personal jurisdiction. Civ. No. 82-1393-JB, Memorandum Opinion and Order, filed May 17, 1983, at 8. The Court held, however, that the motion to dismiss would be subject to renewal should subsequent developments reveal that the Plaintiffs could not prove the allegations in their Complaint [204] upon which jurisdiction was founded. Id. at 4, 8. This second motion to dismiss and to quash service of process for lack of personal jurisdiction is based upon evidence discovered subsequent to denial of the first motion.

In their Complaints, Plaintiffs allege personal injuries resulting from the use of •adioaetive Iodine-125 [1-125] seeds for the .reatment of cancer. Although 3M Company manufactured and distributed the 1-125 seeds, Plaintiffs allege that Sloan-Kettering and Hilaris helped research and develop the seeds, published articles favoring use of the seeds, and disseminated information instructing on use of the seeds. Plaintiffs’ cause of action against Sloan-Kettering and Hilaris is based upon the theories of defective design and marketing, inadequate testing, failure to warn and instruct as to use of the seeds, fraud and misrepresentation.

Plaintiffs contend that Defendants’ supplemental motion to dismiss is not a proper motion because it relies upon evidence outside the pleadings and addresses non-jurisdictional fact issues. This Court may consider materials outside the pleadings in ruling on a motion to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction. Rule 12(d) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure provides that the issue of personal jurisdiction may be determined before trial. “[A]s there is no statutory direction for procedure upon an issue of jurisdiction, the mode of its determination is left to the trial court.” Schramm v. Oakes, 352 F.2d 143, 149 (10th Cir.1965) (citing Gibbs v. Buck, 307 U.S. 66, 71, 59 S.Ct. 725, 729, 83 L.Ed. 1111 (1939)); accord Sherman v. American Federation of Musicians, 588 F.2d 1313, 1314 (10th Cir.1978). “[T]he trial court may gather evidence on the question of jurisdiction ... in an effort to determine the facts as they exist, and based upon the evidence so obtained, decide the jurisdictional dispute before trial.” Schramm v. Oakes, 352 F.2d at 149 (citations omitted). The depositions and affidavit submitted by the parties are properly before the Court and form the evidentiary basis for a decision on the issue of personal jurisdiction.

Plaintiffs state that the affidavit and depositions go beyond the question of personal jurisdiction and raise factual questions concerning the relationship between Sloan-Kettering, Hilaris and 3M that actually will determine liability in this ease. Plaintiffs contend that at this time the Court cannot properly rule upon these facts and the legal conclusions to be drawn from them. While the defense of lack of personal jurisdiction usually is dealt with prior to trial, “[o]ne deviation from this procedure is in the case where the issue of jurisdiction is dependent upon a decision on the merits.” Schramm v. Oakes, 352 F.2d at 143. If jurisdiction turns upon the merits of the case the trial court should postpone a decision on the jurisdictional issue until trial.. Id. “The purpose of postponing a determination on a jurisdictional question when it is tied to the actual merits of the case is to prevent a summary decision on the merits without the ordinary incidents of trial____” Id.

In this case, a decision regarding this Court’s personal jurisdiction over Sloan-Kettering and Hilaris does not require a decision on the merits. Although the relationship between Sloan-Kettering, Hilaris and 3M may be a determinant of liability, that relationship does not determine personal jurisdiction. The determination of personal jurisdiction rests upon the relationship between Sloan-Kettering and Hilaris, the forum state, and the litigation. Shaffer v. Heitner, 433 U.S. 186, 204, 97 S.Ct. 2569, 2579, 53 L.Ed.2d 683 (1977). Although the various Defendants’ “relationships with each other may be significant in evaluating their ties to the forum,” due process requirements for personal jurisdiction must be met as to each individual Defendant. Rush v. Savchuk, 444 U.S. 320, 334, 100 S.Ct. 571, 580, 62 L.Ed.2d 516 (1980). The relationship between Sloan-Kettering, Hilaris and 3M Company is relevant to the question of whether personal jurisdiction could be asserted over Sloan-Kettering and Hilaris because of their economic relationship with 3M. An analysis of that relationship as it relates to personal [205] jurisdiction, however, will not amount to a summary decision on the question of liability.

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Jones v. 3M Co., 107 F.R.D. 202 (D.N.M. 1984).

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