Morgan v. Trokamed GMBH, & Market-Tiers, Inc.

341 F. Supp. 3d 953
CourtDistrict Court, W.D. Wisconsin
DecidedSeptember 14, 2018
Docket18-cv-342-jdp
StatusPublished

This text of 341 F. Supp. 3d 953 (Morgan v. Trokamed GMBH, & Market-Tiers, Inc.) 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
Morgan v. Trokamed GMBH, & Market-Tiers, Inc., 341 F. Supp. 3d 953 (W.D. Wis. 2018).

Opinion

JAMES D. PETERSON, District Judge

This is a products liability case. Plaintiff Constance Morgan's claim focuses on devices called "laparoscopic power morcellators," which are defined by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as "Class II medical devices used during laparoscopic (minimally invasive) surgeries to cut tissue into smaller pieces so the tissue can be removed through a small incision site (typically 2 cm long or less)."1 Morgan alleges that a morcellator used during her hysterectomy in February 2014 caused the spread of uterine cancer.

Morgan is suing defendant Trokamed GmbH (a German company that manufactures the device at issue) and defendant Market-Tiers, Inc., which the parties call Blue Endo (the North American distributor of the device). The question before the court is whether Trokamed has sufficient contacts with Wisconsin to allow this court to exercise personal jurisdiction over that party. Both Morgan and Blue Endo oppose Trokamed's motion to dismiss, so the court will refer to them collectively as "the opposing parties."

The court will grant Trokamed's motion to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction. Although the court sees merit to the opposing parties' view that foreign manufacturers can be sued in Wisconsin if they *956have distribution agreements that cover all of the United States (as Trokamed does), the Supreme Court rejected that view in J. McIntyre Mach., Ltd. v. Nicastro , 564 U.S. 873, 131 S.Ct. 2780, 180 L.Ed.2d 765 (2011). Because the opposing parties have not persuasively distinguished Trokamed's situation from that of the foreign manufacturer in J. McIntrye , Morgan cannot maintain her claim against Trokamed in this court.

ANALYSIS

A. Legal background

Generally, a federal district court must consider the requirements of both the Due Process Clause and state law when deciding whether the court may exercise personal jurisdiction over a defendant. Ricoh Co. v. Asustek Computer, Inc. , 481 F.Supp.2d 954, 957-58 (W.D. Wis. 2007). But in this case, Trokamed does not develop an argument under state law, so the court will limit its analysis to the requirements of due process.

Federal courts recognize two types of personal jurisdiction: general and specific. Daimler AG v. Bauman , 571 U.S. 117, 126-33, 134 S.Ct. 746, 187 L.Ed.2d 624 (2014). A court has general jurisdiction when a defendant's contacts with the forum state are so substantial that the defendant can be sued in that state for any reason; specific jurisdiction focuses on the relationship between the plaintiff's claims and the defendant's contacts with the forum state. Id.

Morgan does not contend that the court can exercise general jurisdiction over Trokamed, so the court will limit its analysis to specific jurisdiction. The court of appeals has synthesized the Supreme Court's opinions on specific jurisdiction into three elements: (1) the defendant must have purposefully availed himself of the privilege of conducting business in the forum state or purposefully directed his activities at the state; (2) the alleged injury must have arisen from the defendant's forum-related activities, and (3) the exercise of jurisdiction must comport with traditional notions of fair play and substantial justice. Felland v. Clifton , 682 F.3d 665, 673 (7th Cir. 2012).2

At this stage of the case, Morgan must "make a prima facie showing of jurisdictional facts." Id. at 672. The court may consider the allegations in the complaint and any evidence submitted by the parties and must resolve any factual disputes in favor of the plaintiff. Id.

B. Trokamed's alleged contacts with Wisconsin

Most of the parties' debate focuses on the question whether Trokamed purposefully availed itself of the privilege of conducting business in Wisconsin or purposefully directed activities here. It is undisputed that Trokamed does not have an office, employees, or sales representatives in Wisconsin. The opposing parties do not allege that any representative *957from Trokamed has visited the state or solicited business here. And there is no evidence or allegations that Trokamed has shipped products to Wisconsin. Instead, the opposing parties rely on the following evidence and allegations:

• the exclusive distribution agreement between Trokamed and Blue Endo;
• statements from Blue Endo's president regarding collaboration between Trokamed and Blue Endo;
• documents showing that morcellators were sent to Wisconsin and allegations that replacement parts were sent here as well;
• a guarantee included in the "instructions for use" that accompanied the morcellator;
• the application that Trokamed submitted to the FDA and the agency's approval of that application;
• documents related to a November 2014 safety communication from the FDA about morcellators;
• testimony that a high-ranking officer at Trokamed came to Florida to meet with Blue Endo representatives.

The court will consider each alleged contact in turn.

C. Exclusive distribution agreement

Morgan's primary argument relies on Trokamed's distribution agreement with Blue Endo, which gave Blue Endo the exclusive right to sell Trokamed's morcellators throughout the United States, Canada, and Mexico. Dkt. 9-2, § 1.5. By entering into that agreement, Morgan says, Trokamed demonstrated its intent sell its products in all 50 states, including Wisconsin. And because it could reasonably expect that its products would be sold in Wisconsin, it "could reasonably anticipate being haled into court" here as well. World-Wide Volkswagen Corp. v. Woodson

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

Related

Tamburo v. Dworkin
601 F.3d 693 (Seventh Circuit, 2010)
World-Wide Volkswagen Corp. v. Woodson
444 U.S. 286 (Supreme Court, 1980)
Calder v. Jones
465 U.S. 783 (Supreme Court, 1984)
J. McIntyre Machinery, Ltd. v. Nicastro
131 S. Ct. 2780 (Supreme Court, 2011)
Robert Felland v. Patrick Clifton
682 F.3d 665 (Seventh Circuit, 2012)
Aftg-Tg, LLC v. Nuvoton Technology Corp.
689 F.3d 1358 (Federal Circuit, 2012)
Nicastro v. McIntyre MacHinery America, Ltd.
987 A.2d 575 (Supreme Court of New Jersey, 2010)
Ricoh Co., Ltd. v. Asustek Computer, Inc.
481 F. Supp. 2d 954 (W.D. Wisconsin, 2007)
Daimler AG v. Bauman
134 S. Ct. 746 (Supreme Court, 2014)
Norman Williams v. Romarm, SA
756 F.3d 777 (D.C. Circuit, 2014)
Philos Technologies, Inc. v. Philos & D, Inc.
802 F.3d 905 (Seventh Circuit, 2015)
Tile Unlimited, Inc. v. Blanke Corp.
47 F. Supp. 3d 750 (N.D. Illinois, 2014)
Oticon, Inc. v. Sebotek Hearing Systems, LLC.
865 F. Supp. 2d 501 (D. New Jersey, 2011)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
341 F. Supp. 3d 953, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/morgan-v-trokamed-gmbh-market-tiers-inc-wiwd-2018.