Keller v. Henderson

834 N.E.2d 930, 359 Ill. App. 3d 605, 296 Ill. Dec. 125, 2005 Ill. App. LEXIS 809
CourtAppellate Court of Illinois
DecidedAugust 9, 2005
Docket2-04-1224
StatusPublished
Cited by50 cases

This text of 834 N.E.2d 930 (Keller v. Henderson) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Appellate Court of Illinois primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Keller v. Henderson, 834 N.E.2d 930, 359 Ill. App. 3d 605, 296 Ill. Dec. 125, 2005 Ill. App. LEXIS 809 (Ill. Ct. App. 2005).

Opinion

JUSTICE KAPALA

delivered the opinion of the court:

Plaintiff, Craig T. Keller, independent special administrator of the estate of Donald W. Keller, deceased, appeals from the order of the circuit court of Winnebago County dismissing defendant, Roger Henderson, for lack of personal jurisdiction. We reverse and remand.

I. BACKGROUND

Defendant, a California resident, was the seller of a vintage World War II T-6 “warbird” airplane that he had stored for many years in California. Defendant hired Courtesy Aircraft, LLC, an Illinois corporation with its principal place of business in Rockford, Illinois, as the exclusive broker for the plane after seeing an advertisement for its services while he was in California. The contract between defendant and Courtesy allowed Courtesy to list the plane for sale as well as advertise it. Courtesy listed and advertised the plane in Illinois. The contract further provided that it was “deemed to be made in Illinois” and that Courtesy was acting as an agent for defendant to facilitate the sale of the plane. Additionally, the contract provided that any disputes arising out of the contract “shall be” litigated in Illinois.

After the contract was formed, defendant allowed the plane to be ferried from California to Rockford, Illinois. Donald Keller, an Illinois resident, was hired by Courtesy to ferry the plane. Defendant acquiesced in the selection of Keller. Keller was a T-6 pilot and had cross-country flight experience. Defendant received and paid a statement from Courtesy charging him for the cost of Keller’s services. The ferry from California to Illinois occurred without incident.

Eventually, a buyer for the plane was located. The buyer was US Aircraft, LLC, a Florida corporation. Two of the corporation’s officers, Joyce Rocco and Dan Rocco, came to Illinois to inspect the plane. Courtesy, as defendant’s agent, executed an aircraft purchase agreement with US Aircraft while the plane was still in Illinois. The purchase agreement provided that any legal action regarding the agreement “may be” brought in “Winnebago, Illinois.” The agreement also stated that the sale was handled by Courtesy’s Rockford office and that delivery of the plane would occur in Illinois. Courtesy also acted as the escrow agent to facilitate the exchange of money and documents arising out of the sale. After the sale, the plane underwent extensive work in Illinois. The work concerned chiefly avionics and the exterior and included overhaul of all instruments, installation of a new canopy and side glass, restoration of the front and rear cockpits, painting the fuselage, installation of new exterior parts to the fuselage and airframe, and other cosmetic work. Defendant agreed to pay a pro rata share for the work.

Forty-two days after the sale of the plane, Keller and Dan Rocco were flying in the plane. Keller had been hired to instruct the Roccos how to fly the plane. Defendant was not the person who hired Keller for this purpose. Keller and Dan Rocco were working on “touch and go” landings at Gilmer County Airport in Gainesville, Georgia. “Touch and go” landings are maneuvers where an aircraft lands and departs on a runway without stopping or exiting the runway. The first four “touch and go” landings occurred without incident. As the fifth “touch and go” landing was being attempted, the plane experienced engine failure and crashed into the ground. Both Keller and Dan Rocco were killed. The National Transportation Safety Board conducted an investigation of the crash. It determined that the probable cause of the crash was “a loss of engine power following a supercharger bearing failure.”

On April 10, 2003, plaintiff filed suit against various persons and entities. On January 15, 2004, defendant was added as a party defendant. The complaint alleged that defendant delivered into Illinois a plane that he knew or should have known was unsafe due to defendant’s poor maintenance of the plane. The complaint further alleged that it was defendant’s poor maintenance that caused the supercharger bearing failure and subsequent loss of engine power.

On April 2, 2004, defendant filed an appearance and jury demand. On the same date defendant also filed a motion to dismiss for want of personal jurisdiction. Defendant attached his affidavit to the motion.

Plaintiff served a notice of deposition on defendant for September 15, 2004. Defendant was never produced at the deposition as defendant’s counsel stated that the trial court had stayed all discovery pending the resolution of defendant’s motion.

On August 26, 2004, a hearing was held on defendant’s motion. The court did not hear testimony at the hearing but heard argument by counsel. Plaintiff requested additional time to depose defendant. The court took the issue under advisement but never decided the issue as it had previously ordered that discovery be stayed until resolution of the motion to dismiss for want of personal jurisdiction. As aforementioned, defendant submitted his affidavit while plaintiff submitted a joint affidavit of its aviation experts and attached 14 exhibits. On September 23, 2004, the trial court granted defendant’s motion to dismiss. On September 27, 2004, the trial court issued a written memorandum of decision outlining the court’s reasoning for granting defendant’s motion to dismiss. The memorandum also stated that it was “made a part of [the September 23, 2004, order].”

Plaintiff filed a motion to reconsider. Plaintiff contended that because the trial court lacked the benefit of defendant’s deposition it could not properly rule on the motion to dismiss. Further, plaintiff requested that he now be able to depose defendant. The court denied plaintiffs motion to reconsider and his request to depose defendant. Plaintiff timely appealed.

II. DISCUSSION

Plaintiff makes three contentions on appeal. First, that the trial court erred in finding that it lacked personal jurisdiction over defendant. Second, that the trial court used incorrect facts in making its personal jurisdiction determination. Third, that the trial court erred by deciding the personal jurisdiction issue without allowing plaintiff to take defendant’s deposition. We agree with plaintiffs first contention, and therefore, we need not reach his second or third contention.

Plaintiff asserts that the trial court has jurisdiction over defendant pursuant to subsection (a)(1) of section 2 — 209 of the Code of Civil Procedure, the long-arm statute (735 ILCS 5/2 — 209(a)(1) (West 2002)), subsection (a)(2) of the long-arm statute (735 ILCS 5/2— 209(a)(2) (West 2002)), and subsection (a)(7) of the long-arm statute (735 ILCS 5/2 — 209(a)(7) (West 2002)). Further, plaintiff contends that exercising jurisdiction over defendant comports with the due process requirements of the Illinois and United States Constitutions.

A plaintiff has the burden of proving a prima facie case for jurisdiction when seeking jurisdiction over a nonresident defendant. Spartan Motors, Inc. v. Lube Power, Inc., 337 Ill. App. 3d 556, 559 (2003).

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
834 N.E.2d 930, 359 Ill. App. 3d 605, 296 Ill. Dec. 125, 2005 Ill. App. LEXIS 809, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/keller-v-henderson-illappct-2005.