Mayo v. Tillman Aero, Inc.

640 So. 2d 314, 93 La.App. 3 Cir. 00467, 1994 La. App. LEXIS 395, 1994 WL 47107
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedFebruary 16, 1994
Docket93-00467
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 640 So. 2d 314 (Mayo v. Tillman Aero, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Louisiana Court of Appeal primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Mayo v. Tillman Aero, Inc., 640 So. 2d 314, 93 La.App. 3 Cir. 00467, 1994 La. App. LEXIS 395, 1994 WL 47107 (La. Ct. App. 1994).

Opinion

640 So.2d 314 (1994)

Donna Sue MAYO, et al., Plaintiffs-Appellants,
v.
TILLMAN AERO, INC., et al., Defendants-Appellees.

No. 93-00467.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Third Circuit.

February 16, 1994.

*316 Johnny Everett Dollar, West Monroe, for Donna Sue Mayo, Indiv., etc.

Jesse R. Adams Jr., New Orleans, for Tillman Aero, Inc., et al.

C. Jerome D'Aquila, New Roads, for Johnny W. Levasseur.

E. Glenn Parr, Vero Beach, FL, for Piper Aircraft Corp.

Joseph Wilson, Jena, for Western Aviation, Inc.

Donald O. Collins, New Orleans, for Precision Airmotive Corp.

L. Albert Forrest, New Iberia, for Textron Lycoming.

Eugene Joseph Sues, Randall M. Seeser, Alexandria, for Western Sun Aviation, Inc., etc.

Before COOKS, SAUNDERS and WOODARD, JJ.

SAUNDERS, Judge.

This is an appeal by plaintiff, Donna Sue Mayo, individually and on behalf of her three minor children, from the trial court's judgment granting one of the defendant's, Western Sun Aviation, Inc. (hereinafter WESTERN), Declinatory Exception of Lack of Personal Jurisdiction. We affirm the trial court's decision and find that the plaintiff failed to prove sufficient minimum contacts between the defendant, WESTERN, and the forum state, Louisiana, to satisfy traditional notions of fair play and substantial justice. In addition, we find nothing in the record to indicate that WESTERN was a manufacturer, and therefore, we hold that the district court could not assert jurisdiction under that analysis.

For the reasons which follow, we affirm the judgment rendered by the district court.

FACTS

Plaintiff, Donna Sue Mayo, individually and on behalf of her three minor children, Chad Mayo, Heather Mayo, and Kyle Mayo, filed a suit arising out of the death of her husband and father of her children, Reverend Kenneth G. Mayo, who was killed in an airplane crash on December 15, 1990. Mayo rented a Piper airplane from Tillman Aero, Inc. of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, to fly to Olla, Louisiana, on business. During Mayo's return flight to Baton Rouge, Mayo's airplane developed mechanical problems and crashed in a wooded area near the Olla Airport in LaSalle Parish, Louisiana.

Plaintiff filed suit in the 28th Judicial District Court, LaSalle Parish, Louisiana, against various defendants including a California corporation, Western Sun Aviation, Inc., d/b/a Western Aviation, Inc., d/b/a American Flight Institute International. Plaintiff alleged that WESTERN performed faulty work on the carburetor of Mayo's aircraft that caused the airplane to crash.

WESTERN filed a Declinatory Exception of Lack of Personal Jurisdiction, which the district court granted. Plaintiff appeals the district court's ruling.

I. Issues Presented

Plaintiff contends that the district court erred in finding that the plaintiff failed to show sufficient minimum contacts between WESTERN and Louisiana and that maintenance of the suit would not offend traditional notions of fair play and substantial justice. Plaintiff also contends that the defendant *317 was a manufacturer of a product or component thereof that caused the injury. Characterizing WESTERN as a manufacturer, plaintiff argues that it was foreseeable that the defendant's product would reach Louisiana and that the due process rights of the defendant would not be violated by hailing it into court in Louisiana.

II. Law

To assert personal jurisdiction over a non-resident defendant, the Louisiana long-arm statute, Louisiana Revised Statutes 13:3201, provides in pertinent part:

§ 3201. Personal jurisdiction over nonresidents.
A. A court may exercise personal jurisdiction over a nonresident, who acts directly or by an agent, as to a cause of action arising from any one of the following activities performed by the nonresident:
(1) Transacting any business in this state.
* * * * * *
(4) Causing injury or damage in this state by an offense or quasi offense committed through an act or omission outside of this state if he regularly does or solicits business, or engages in any other persistent course of conduct, or derives revenue from goods used or consumed or services rendered in this state.
* * * * * *
(8) Manufacturing of a product or component thereof which caused damage or injury in this state, if at the time of placing the product into the stream of commerce, the manufacturer could have foreseen, realized, expected, or anticipated that the product may eventually be found in this state by reason of its nature and the manufacturer's marketing practices.
B. In addition to the provisions of Subsection A, a court of this state may exercise personal jurisdiction over a nonresident on any basis consistent with the constitution of the state and of the Constitution of the United States.

The intent of this statute is to extend personal jurisdiction of Louisiana courts over nonresidents consistent with the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. Clay v. Clay, 389 So.2d 31 (La.1979), Soileau v. Evangeline Farmer's Co-op, 386 So.2d 179 (La.App. 3d Cir.1980).

Due process requires that, in order to subject a non-resident defendant to a personal judgment, the defendant must have certain minimum contacts with the forum state, such that the maintenance of the suit does not offend traditional notions of fair play and substantial justice, de Reyes v. Marine Mgt. and Consulting, Ltd., 586 So.2d 103 (La. 1991); see also, Asahi Metal Industry Co., Ltd. v. Superior Court of California, 480 U.S. 102, 107 S.Ct. 1026, 94 L.Ed.2d 92 (1987); Burger King Corporation v. Rudzewicz, 471 U.S. 462, 105 S.Ct. 2174, 85 L.Ed.2d 528 (1985); World-Wide Volkswagen Corporation v. Woodson, 444 U.S. 286, 100 S.Ct. 559, 62 L.Ed.2d 490 (1980).

In interpreting the due process clause, the United States Supreme Court has recognized a distinction between two types of personal jurisdiction—general and specific jurisdiction. Burger King Corporation, 471 U.S. at 473, 105 S.Ct. at 2182; Helicopteros Nacionales de Colombia, S.A. v. Hall, 466 U.S. 408, 104 S.Ct. 1868, 80 L.Ed.2d 404 (1984). When a state exercises personal jurisdiction over a defendant in a suit arising out of or related to the defendant's contacts with the forum, the state is exercising specific jurisdiction over the defendant. de Reyes, 586 So.2d at 115. But, when a state exercises personal jurisdiction over a defendant in a suit not arising out of or related to the defendant's contacts with the forum, the state is exercising general jurisdiction (emphasis added). de Reyes, supra. Where a forum seeks to exercise specific jurisdiction over an out-of-state defendant who has not consented to suit there, the requirement of meaningful minimum contacts is satisfied when the defendant has purposefully directed his activities at residents of the forum and the litigation results from alleged injuries arising out of or relating to those activities. de Reyes, 586 So.2d at 106.

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640 So. 2d 314, 93 La.App. 3 Cir. 00467, 1994 La. App. LEXIS 395, 1994 WL 47107, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/mayo-v-tillman-aero-inc-lactapp-1994.