Melhuish v. Crompton Corp.

CourtSuperior Court of Maine
DecidedMarch 1, 2004
DocketCUMcv-02-567
StatusUnpublished

This text of Melhuish v. Crompton Corp. (Melhuish v. Crompton Corp.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Superior Court of Maine primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Melhuish v. Crompton Corp., (Me. Super. Ct. 2004).

Opinion

STATE OF MAINE SUPERIOR COURT CUMBERLAND, ss. CIVIL ACTION DOCKET NO. Cy- 02- 7967 mwa ei A S54 BEC AN Bi ooy GEOFFREY MELHUISH Aw BAR 7 ff Plaintiff Vv. ORDER ON DEFENDANTS’ MOTIONS CROMPTON CORPORATION, TO DISMISS UNIROYAL CHEMICAL COMPANY, INC., UNIROYAL CHEMICAL

COMPANY LIMITED, FLEXSYS NV, _FLEXSYS AMERICA LP, BAYER AG, - we BAYER CORPORATION, RHEIN CHEMIE. RHEINAU GMBH, AND RHEIN CHEMIE CORPORATION

Defendants. MAY 12 004

Before the court are Motions to Dismiss Plaintiff’s Class Action Complaint for Lack of Personal Jurisdiction made by (1) Defendants Crompton Corporation, Uniroyal Chemical Company Inc., and Uniroyal Chemical Company limited (collectively “Crompton”), (2) Defendants Flexsys NV & Flexsys America L.P. (collectively “Flexsys”), and (3) Defendant Bayer Corporation (“Bayer”).

FACTUAL BACKGROUND

This action stems from an alleged illegal price fixing agreement between the three primary producers of rubber-processing chemicals, Crompton, Flexsys, and Bayer. Plaintiff is a Cumberland County resident who purchased tires in July of 2001 from Sears, Roebuck and Co. in South Portland, Maine and in April of 2000 from VIP in Westbrook, Maine. Plaintiff represents all persons within the State of Maine who purchased automobile tires that were manufactured using rubber-processing chemicals

sold by Defendants since 1994. Plaintiff’s complaint alleges that Defendants have violated the Maine Antitrust Act, 10 M.R.S.A. § 1101 et seq. He alleges that Defendants were parties to an illegal cartel agreement, contract, combination and/or conspiracy designed to fix, raise, stabilize and maintain the price for rubber-processing products. Plaintiff prays that the court: (a) certify a Class consisting of all persons within the State of Maine who purchased tires that were manufactured using rubber processing chemicals sold by

Defendants since 1994 (excluding all Defendants and their respective officers, directors,

.. employees, subsidiaries, and affiliates, as well as all governmental entities and all judges _

or justices assigned to hear any aspect of this case); (b) appoint Plaintiff as

representative of the Class; (c) appoint Plaintiff’s counsel as counsel for the Class; (d)

enter judgment in favor of Plaintiff and the Class; (e) award Plaintiff and the Class their

damages, trebled; (f) award Plaintiff and the Class reasonable attorneys’ fees; (g) award

Plaintiff and the Class costs reasonably incurred in the prosecution of this litigation; and

(h) award such other relief as the court deems just and proper under the circumstances. DISCUSSION

Standard of Review

There are two types of personal jurisdiction that courts recognize: general and specific. General jurisdiction is achieved when the defendant has engaged in substantial or systematic and continuous activity, unrelated to the subject matter of the action in

the forum state. Daynard v. Ness, Motley, Loadholt, Richardson & Poole, P.A., 290 F.3d

42, 51 (1* Cir. 2002); Scott v. Tones, 984 F. Supp. 37, 43 (D. Me. 1997). Specific jurisdiction is conferred “where the cause of action arises directly out of, or relates to, the

defendant's forum-based contacts.” United Elec., Radio & Mach. Workers of Am. v. 163

Pleasant St. Corp., 960 F.2d 1080, 1088-89 (1* Cir. 1992).

Maine’s long-arm statute provides only for the exercise of specific personal

jurisdiction. Danton v. Innovative Gaming Corp. of Am., 246 F. Supp. 2d 64, 68 (D. Me.

9 2003). Under 14 M.R.S.A. § 704-A, the exercise of personal jurisdiction is permissible as long as it is consistent with the Due Process Clause of the Federal Constitution. 14

M.R.S.A. § 704-A (2003); Suttie v. Sloan Sales, 1998 ME 121, { 4, 711 A.2d 1285, 1286.

(citing Mahon v. East Moline Metal Prods. 579 A.2d 255, 256 (Me. 1990)). For Maine to

exercise specific personal jurisdiction over a nonresident defendant, “due process requires that (1) Maine have a legitimate interest in the subject matter of [the] litigation; (2) the defendant, by his conduct, reasonably could have anticipated litigation In Maine: _and (3) the exercise of jurisdiction by Maine's courts comports. with traditional notions of fair play and substantial justice.” Suttie, 1998 ME 121, J 4, 711 A.2d at 1286 (citing

Murphy v. Keenan, 667 A.2d 591, 593 (Me. 1995)).

The plaintiff bears the burden of establishing the first two prongs of the specific personal jurisdiction test. Suttie, 1998 ME 121, 1 4, 711 A.2d at 1286 (citing Murphy, 667 A.2d at 594). The plaintiffs showing must be based on specific facts set forth in the record, and the record should be construed in a light most favorable to the plaintiff.

Frazier v. Bankamerica Int'l, 593 A.2d 661, 662 (Me. 1991). Once Plaintiff makes this

requisite showing, the burden shifts to the defendant to establish that asserting jurisdiction does not comport with traditional notions of fair play and substantial justice. Id.

In the present case, the heart of both parties’ pleadings and oral arguments focuses on the second prong of this three-part test, viz: whether Defendants, by their conduct, could have reasonably anticipated litigation in Maine. Although Plaintiff offers four arguments in support of his position, for the reasons set forth below, the court finds none of the arguments convincing and grants Defendants’ motions to dismiss for

lack of personal jurisdiction.

a Jurisdiction Under 14 M.R.S.A. § 704-A(2)(B)

Plaintiff argues that Defendants should reasonably have anticipated litigation in Maine when they violated the Maine Anitrust Act and committed tortious acts within the state under 14 M.RS.A. § 704-A(2)(B).! While there is no Maine case law that directly addresses the question of whether price fixing is a tortious act in Maine, guidance can be found from other jurisdictions. Several federal courts have recently

held that the act of price fixing does not constitute a tort. See e.g. Free v. Abbott Labs.,

_. Inc, 164 F.3d 270, 273-74 (5th Cir. 1999) (holding that price fixing did not amount toa.

tort where neither the Legislature or State Supreme Court recognized its existence as a

tort); Four B Corp. v. Ueno Fine Chems. Indus. Ltd., 241 FE. Supp. 2d 1258, 1262-63 (D.

Kan. 2003) (prohibiting the plaintiffs from invoking the state’s long-arm statute where the plaintiffs failed to provide legal support for the contention that a violation of the

state’s antitrust laws constituted tortious behavior); Indiana Grocery Co. v. Super Valu

Stores, Inc. 684 F. Supp. 561, 584 (S.D. Ind. 1988) (holding that price fixing is not a tort: rejecting plaintiffs’ invitation to expand state law not recognized by controlling precedent).

‘The authority set forth by Plaintiff for the purpose of establishing that other jurisdictions have found liability in tort for violation of state antitrust laws is

unpersuasive. See GTE New Media Servs., Inc. v. Ameritech Corp., 21 F. Supp. 2d 27, 37

(D.D.C. 1998); Origins Natural Res., Inc. v. Kotler, 133 F. Supp. 2d 1232, 1234 (D.N.M. 2001).

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