McPhee v. Simonds Saw & Steel Co.

294 F. Supp. 779, 1969 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 9205
CourtDistrict Court, W.D. Wisconsin
DecidedJanuary 10, 1969
DocketNo. 68-C-71
StatusPublished
Cited by9 cases

This text of 294 F. Supp. 779 (McPhee v. Simonds Saw & Steel Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, W.D. Wisconsin primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
McPhee v. Simonds Saw & Steel Co., 294 F. Supp. 779, 1969 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 9205 (W.D. Wis. 1969).

Opinion

OPINION AND ORDER

JAMES E. DOYLE, District Judge.

This is an action for damages for personal injuries allegedly sustained by plaintiff John McPhee. Plaintiffs are citizens of the State of Wisconsin. Defendant Simonds Saw and Steel Company (hereinafter Simonds) was, at the time of the injury in question, a Massachusetts corporation with offices in Chicago, Illinois. Since that time Simonds has become a part of Wallace-Murray Corporation, a Delaware corporation. Defendant The Corinth Machinery Company a/k/a Corinth American Machinery Company (hereinafter Corinth) is a Mississippi corporation with principal offices in Corinth, Mississippi. Defendant Tyrone Hydraulics is a Delaware corporation with offices in the State of Mississippi. At the time of the injury in question Tyrone Hydraulics was operated as a division of Oliver Tyrone Corporation, a Pennsylvania corporation. Defendant Monical Machinery Company (hereinafter Monical) is a Michigan corporation with principal offices in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The amount in controversy exceeds the sum of $10,000 exclusive of interest and costs.

Defendant Tyrone Hydraulics has filed a motion to dismiss the action as against Tyrone Hydraulics or to quash the return of the summons on the ground that it is not subject to in personam jurisdiction in this court and that it has not been properly served with process in this action. Defendant Monical has likewise filed a motion to dismiss the action as against Monical on the ground that it is not subject to in personam jurisdiction in this court and that service of process was improper. Defendant Corinth has filed a motion to dismiss the action as against Corinth on the grounds that the complaint fails to state a cause of action against Corinth and that the complaint violates Rule 8(e) (1), Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, in that it is “verbose, confusing and redundant”.

The court has been supplied with briefs and affidavits and a hearing has been held in regard to these matters.

The amended complaint herein alleges that Corinth designed, manufactured, sold and distributed to Erickson Hardwoods, Inc., Onalaska, Wisconsin (hereinafter Erickson) a remote control air carriage and saw unit; that Simonds designed, manufactured, sold and distributed to Corinth a saw and saw blade for inclusion in said carriage and saw unit; that Tyrone Hydraulics designed, manufactured, sold and distributed to Corinth a carriage drive for inclusion in said carriage and saw unit; that Monical was the distributor for Corinth and that it sold and distributed the entire carriage and saw unit to Erickson; and [781]*781that plaintiff John McPhee was seriously injured while operating said carriage and saw unit as an employee of Erickson. Plaintiffs seek to rest liability on negligence and strict tort liability.

The summons and complaint were served on defendant Tyrone Hydraulics by delivering copies thereof to an officer of Oliver Tyrone Corporation at Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. In support of its motion to dismiss or to quash return of the summons Tyrone Hydraulics has filed an affidavit stating that neither Tyrone Hydraulics nor Oliver Tyrone owns or keeps any goods or other products within the State of Wisconsin; that neither corporation has any officers, employees, jobbers, distributors or sales representatives in the State of Wisconsin; that neither corporation has ever been authorized to do business in the State of Wisconsin; that neither corporation does any advertising in Wisconsin newspapers and publications; and that the transaction involving the sale of the carriage drive by Tyrone Hydraulics to Corinth took place wholly within the State of Mississippi.

The summons and complaint were served on defendant Monical by delivering copies thereof to an officer of the corporation at Grand Rapids, Michigan. In support of its motion to dismiss Monical has filed an affidavit which states that Monical is a Michigan corporation “doing business in the State of Michigan in the entirety”; and that Monical has never been licensed to do business in the State of Wisconsin. In its motion to dismiss Monical states that “it was not [at the time of the alleged injury] or prior thereto or thereafter doing business in the State of Wisconsin on a substantial basis.”

Plaintiffs contend that the service of process upon Tyrone Hydraulics and Monical was not improper and that both defendants are subject to in personam jurisdiction in this court. Plaintiffs rely on Rule 4 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and §§ 262.05(4), 262.-06(5), Wis.Stats., to support this contention.

Rule 4(f) (as amended, 1963) provides in pertinent part:

“(f) Territorial Limits of Effective Service. All process other than a subpoena may be served anywhere within the territorial limits of the state in which the district court is held, and, when authorized by a statute of the United States or by these rules, beyond the territorial limits of that state. * * *”

Rule 4(d) (7) (as amended, 1963) provides for service upon a foreign corporation “in the manner prescribed by the law of the state in which the district court is held for the service of summons or other like process upon any such defendant in an action brought in the courts of general jurisdiction of that state.” Section 262.06(5), Wis.Stats., provides that a court having jurisdiction over the subject matter and personal jurisdiction as provided in Section 262.05 may exercise jurisdiction over a foreign corporation when the summons is personally served “upon an officer, director or managing agent of the corporation either within or without this state.” Section 262.05(4), Wis.Stats., provides as follows:

“A court of this state having jurisdiction of the subject matter has jurisdiction over a person served in an action pursuant to s. 262.06 under any of the following circumstances:
* •* * • * * *
“(4) Local injury; foreign act. In any action claiming injury to person or property within this state arising out of an act or omission outside this state by the defendant, provided in addition that at the time of the injury either:
“(a) Solicitation or service activities were carried on within this state by or on behalf of the defendant; or
“(b) Products, materials or things processed, serviced or manufactured by the defendant were used or consumed within this state in the ordinary course of trade.”

[782]*782Subsection (4) of section 262.05 has not yet been specifically construed by the Wisconsin courts in any reported decision.

The Revision Notes to Section 262.05 contain the following pertinent information:

“Sub. (4) furnishes a basis for personal jurisdiction in these actions to recover for a local injury resulting from an act done outside the state by the defendant, provided the defendant is shown to have other substantial contacts with the state in addition to the facts of the case sued upon.
******
“Three jurisdictional facts are required by [sub.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Housing Horizons, LLC v. Alexander Co., Inc.
2000 WI App 9 (Court of Appeals of Wisconsin, 1999)
Schmitz v. Hunter MacHinery Co.
279 N.W.2d 172 (Wisconsin Supreme Court, 1979)
Stevens v. White Motor Corp.
252 N.W.2d 88 (Wisconsin Supreme Court, 1977)
Fields v. Playboy Club of Lake Geneva, Inc.
250 N.W.2d 311 (Wisconsin Supreme Court, 1977)
Maney v. Ratcliff
399 F. Supp. 760 (E.D. Wisconsin, 1975)
Davis v. Mercier-Freres
368 F. Supp. 498 (E.D. Wisconsin, 1973)
Packard v. CESSNA AIRCRAFT COMPANY
366 F. Supp. 966 (D. Alaska, 1973)
U-Profit, Inc. v. Bromley Ltd.
54 F.R.D. 60 (E.D. Wisconsin, 1971)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
294 F. Supp. 779, 1969 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 9205, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/mcphee-v-simonds-saw-steel-co-wiwd-1969.