Marketing Group, Inc. v. Success Development International, Inc.

41 F. Supp. 2d 1241, 1999 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 2388, 1999 WL 115462
CourtDistrict Court, D. Kansas
DecidedFebruary 18, 1999
DocketCiv.A. 98-2582-GTV
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 41 F. Supp. 2d 1241 (Marketing Group, Inc. v. Success Development International, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Kansas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Marketing Group, Inc. v. Success Development International, Inc., 41 F. Supp. 2d 1241, 1999 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 2388, 1999 WL 115462 (D. Kan. 1999).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

VANBEBBER, District Judge.

Plaintiff The Marketing Group; Inc. brings this diversity action alleging that defendant Success Development International, Inc. breached a service agreement. The case is before the court on defendant’s motion to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction (Doc. 4). For the reasons set forth in this memorandum and order, defendant’s motion is denied.

I. BURDEN OF PROOF

In a diversity action, the plaintiff bears the burden of establishing that the court has personal jurisdiction over the defendant. See Behagen v. Amateur Basketball Assoc., 744 F.2d 731, 733 (10th Cir.1984). However, the burden of proof varies depending upon the procedure employed to determine the issue. “If a motion to dismiss for lack of [personal] jurisdiction is submitted prior to trial on the basis of affidavits and other written materials, plaintiff is initially required only to make a prima facie showing to avoid dismissal.” Thompson v. Chambers, 804 F.Supp. 188, 191 (D.Kan.1992) (citing F.D.I.C. v. Oaklawn Apartments, 959 F.2d 170, 174 (10th Cir.1992)). “[T]o be sufficient to put the contested facts in issue, affidavits submitted in support of or in opposition to motions to dismiss for lack of jurisdiction must comply with the requirements of Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(e); i.e., they must be made on personal knowledge, set forth such facts as would be admissible as evidence, and show affirmatively that the affiant is competent to testify to the matters stated therein.” Id. (citing F.D.I.C., 959 F.2d at 175 n. 6). If the parties submit conflicting affidavits, as in this case, the court must resolve all factual disputes in the plaintiffs favor. See id.

II. FACTUAL BACKGROUND

Plaintiff is a Kansas corporation with its principal place of business in Leawood, Kansas. Defendant is a Florida corporation with its principal place of business in Jacksonville, Florida. In August or September 1997, defendant’s President Ron LeGrand contacted H. Brad Antin, President of The Marketing Group, Inc., and requested that plaintiff create a marketing plan for defendant. In December 1997, the parties engaged in a series of negotiations regarding plaintiffs creation of the marketing plan. As a part of this negotiation process, defendant faxed several proposals and counter-proposals to plaintiffs Leawood, Kansas office. Plaintiff maintains that the marketing plan and its terms were confirmed by subsequent verbal communications, thereby creating a contract between the parties. Although the parties agreed upon the terms of the contract, the contract itself was never approved by defendant’s board of directors.

*1243 Pursuant to the parties’ agreement, plaintiff created a radio program and five direct-marketing letters to market defendant’s product. According to the affidavit of Mr. Antin, the majority of the work for the radio program, including the writing of the script, was performed at plaintiffs Kansas office. During the writing of the script, Mr. Antin claims that he had ongoing telephone discussions with defendant’s employees. After the script was completed in Kansas, Mr. Antin traveled to Florida to record the program.

Mr. Antin also claims that the five direct-marketing letters were created almost entirely at the plaintiffs Kansas office. Mr. Antin had regular contact with defendant during the creation of these letters, and preliminary and final drafts of the letters were faxed or e-mailed from Kansas to Florida. The completed marketing letters were used by defendant and mailed to its potential customers.

Mr. Antin states in his affidavit that 90% of the total work performed by plaintiff for defendant was performed in Kansas. According to Mr. Antin, the work had to be performed in Kansas because the computer, equipment, and reference materials used to create the program and letters were located in plaintiffs Kansas office.

III. DISCUSSION

In a suit in federal court based on diversity of citizenship, the law of the forum state determines personal jurisdiction over a non-resident defendant. Federated Rural Elec. Ins. Corp. v. Kootenai Elec. Coop., 17 F.3d 1302, 1304 (10th Cir.1994). In Kansas, a two-step analysis is used to determine whether a court has personal jurisdiction over a defendant. First, the court must determine whether it has jurisdiction under the Kansas long-arm statute, K.S.A. § 60 — 308(b). The Kansas long-arm statute states that a nonresident defendant submits to the jurisdiction of the state of Kansas by, inter alia, transacting any business within the state or entering into a contract with a resident of Kansas to be performed in part or in whole in Kansas. See K.S.A. § 60-308(b)(1) and (5). Second, the court must determine whether the exercise of jurisdiction comports with the constitutional guarantee of due process. Federated Rural Elec., 17 F.3d at 1304-05. “In Kansas, these inquiries are for all intents and purposes the same because the Kansas long-arm statue, K.S.A. § 60-308(b), has been liberally construed by the Kansas courts to assert personal jurisdiction to the full extent permitted by the due process clause.” Flannagan v. Bader, 905 F.Supp. 933, 935-36 (D.Kan.1995); see also Equifax Servs., Inc. v. Hitz, 905 F.2d 1355, 1357 (10th Cir.1990). The court, therefore, proceeds directly to the constitutional issue.

Due process requires that a defendant must have certain minimum contacts with the forum state sufficient to guarantee that the assertion of personal jurisdiction does not offend “traditional notions of fair play and substantial justice.” Helicopteros Nacionales de Colombia, S.A. v. Hall, 466 U.S. 408, 414, 104 S.Ct. 1868, 80 L.Ed.2d 404 (1984). The sufficiency of the contacts depends on the type of personal jurisdiction that the forum seeks to assert — specific jurisdiction or general jurisdiction. Kuenzle v. HTM Sport-Und Freizeitgerate AG, 102 F.3d 453, 455 (10th Cir.1996). In this case, defendant argues that the assertion of either specific or general jurisdiction would violate its due process rights.

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41 F. Supp. 2d 1241, 1999 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 2388, 1999 WL 115462, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/marketing-group-inc-v-success-development-international-inc-ksd-1999.