MR. CINNAMON OF KANSAS, INC. v. Hall

202 P.3d 734
CourtCourt of Appeals of Kansas
DecidedMarch 13, 2009
Docket99,722
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 202 P.3d 734 (MR. CINNAMON OF KANSAS, INC. v. Hall) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Kansas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
MR. CINNAMON OF KANSAS, INC. v. Hall, 202 P.3d 734 (kanctapp 2009).

Opinion

202 P.3d 734 (2009)

MR. CINNAMON OF KANSAS, INC., Appellant,
v.
David G. HALL d/b/a A & H Tobacco, Appellee.

No. 99,722.

Court of Appeals of Kansas.

March 13, 2009.

*738 Henry H. Blase, of Law Offices of Blase & Blase, of Wichita, for appellant.

Jeffrey N. Lowe, of Stinson, Lasswell & Wilson, L.C., of Wichita, and Nancy Ogle, of Ogle Law Office, L.L.C., of Wichita, for appellee.

Before CAPLINGER, P.J., MALONE and LEBEN, JJ.

MALONE, J.

Mr. Cinnamon of Kansas, Inc. (Mr. Cinnamon), appeals the district court's decision to dismiss a civil lawsuit against David G. Hall d/b/a A & H Tobacco of Kentucky. The sole issue is whether the district court erred by determining that it lacked personal jurisdiction over Hall. We agree with the district court that Hall had insufficient personal contacts with the state of Kansas to expose him to the jurisdiction of the Kansas courts. Accordingly, we affirm the district court's decision granting Hall's motion to dismiss.

Hall has been a continuous and permanent resident of Kentucky since 1991. He was formerly an officer and shareholder of a Kentucky corporation known as A & H Tobacco, Inc. (A & H Tobacco). A & H Tobacco was in the business of purchasing tobacco products from various suppliers for resale in Kentucky. The corporation was active and in good standing in Kentucky until it was administratively dissolved on November 1, 2003.

In the spring of 2003, Chris Meade, an employee of A & H Tobacco, attended a trade show in Las Vegas, Nevada. Either at the trade show in Las Vegas or by telephone from Kentucky shortly after the trade show, Meade spoke with Tony Bryant, an employee or representative of Tobacco Center, Inc. (Tobacco Center), of Miami, Florida. A & H Tobacco had dealt with Bryant before and had previously purchased cigarettes from Tobacco Center for resale in Kentucky. Bryant asked Meade whether A & H Tobacco would be interested in purchasing some Marlboro cigarettes. However, Bryant did not disclose the name of the seller or the location of the cigarettes. Meade contacted Hall and informed him that Bryant had Marlboro cigarettes for sale. On behalf of A & H Tobacco, Hall authorized Meade to purchase the Marlboro cigarettes from Tobacco Center. The parties did not enter into a written contract.

James J. Aboud is the president of Mr. Cinnamon, a distributor of tobacco products located in Wichita, Kansas. According to Aboud's affidavit, in the spring of 2003, while in his Wichita office, he talked with Bryant concerning the possible sale of a large quantity of Marlboro cigarettes owned by Mr. Cinnamon that were stored in a warehouse in Kansas City, Missouri. According to Aboud, Bryant told him that A & H Tobacco of Kentucky would purchase the cigarettes.

On April 11, 2003, the cigarettes were shipped from Kansas City, Missouri, to "A & H Tobacco/Chris Meade" in Kentucky according to the shipping documents associated with the cigarettes. The invoice for the cigarettes, dated April 7, 2003, however, originated from "Mr. Cinnamon Tobacco Dist." of Wichita, Kansas. When A & H Tobacco received the shipment of cigarettes, it determined that many of the packages were counterfeit and most of the products were substantially damaged and unsuitable for resale.

A & H Tobacco contacted Bryant about the shipment. Bryant instructed A & H Tobacco to remit payment to Mr. Cinnamon for the cigarettes that could be sold and to return the damaged and counterfeit cigarettes to Mr. Cinnamon. A & H Tobacco remitted a check in the amount of $30,000 to "Mr. Cinnamon of Kansas" for the portion of the undamaged and noncounterfeit cigarettes. The check had the name "A & H Tobacco" printed at the top, and Hall signed the check on the line designated authorized signature. On the check stub attached to the payment, the name "A & H Tobacco" was printed at the top, and the name "A & H *739 Tobacco, In" was printed at the bottom. A & H Tobacco returned the damaged and counterfeit cigarettes to Mr. Cinnamon. However, Mr. Cinnamon refused delivery and the cigarettes were returned to A & H Tobacco.

On February 26, 2007, Mr. Cinnamon filed a petition in the Sedgwick County District Court against David G. Hall d/b/a A & H Tobacco. By that time, the corporate entity of A & H Tobacco had been dissolved. In the petition, Mr. Cinnamon alleged Hall purchased tobacco products from Mr. Cinnamon for the agreed price of $196,350, but that Hall only paid $30,000. Therefore, Mr. Cinnamon requested judgment against Hall in the amount of $166,350, plus prejudgment and postjudgment interest.

Hall filed a motion to dismiss on the ground that the district court lacked personal jurisdiction over him. Both parties filed briefs, including affidavits from Aboud, Hall, Meade, and Bryant. Following a hearing, the district court granted Hall's motion to dismiss, finding Hall had insufficient personal contacts with the state of Kansas to expose him to the jurisdiction of the Kansas courts. Mr. Cinnamon timely appeals.

On appeal, Mr. Cinnamon claims the district court erred by granting Hall's motion to dismiss. Specifically, Mr. Cinnamon maintains that Hall had sufficient personal contacts with the state of Kansas to expose him to the jurisdiction of the Kansas courts.

The determination of whether a Kansas court has personal jurisdiction over a party involves a two-step analysis. First, the court decides if there is jurisdiction under the Kansas long arm statute, K.S.A.2008 Supp. 60-308(b). The Kansas long arm statute is liberally construed to assert personal jurisdiction over nonresident defendants. Second, if the Kansas long arm statute is satisfied, the court inquires if the exercise of personal jurisdiction complies with the due process requirements of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. Kluin v. American Suzuki Motor Corp., 274 Kan. 888, 894, 56 P.3d 829 (2002).

Since the Kansas long arm statute has generally been interpreted as broadly as possible to the limit of due process requirements, most of the cases focus on the second step of the analysis regarding due process. In some states, courts have explicitly reduced their analysis to a one-step approach: Is the exercise of jurisdiction constitutional? Kansas has not formally adopted such an approach. Leben and Hinderks, Long-Arm Jurisdiction in Kansas, 62 J.K.B.A. 27 (May 1993).

There are two broad types of personal jurisdiction which a state can exercise: specific and general. Specific jurisdiction refers to jurisdiction over causes of action arising from or related to a defendant's actions within a foreign state. The Kansas long arm statute, K.S.A. 60-308(b), defines when Kansas exercises specific jurisdiction over a nonresident defendant. General jurisdiction refers to the power of a state to adjudicate any cause of action involving a particular defendant, regardless of where the cause of action arose. Merriman v. Crompton Corp., 282 Kan. 433, Syl. ¶ 5, 146 P.3d 162 (2006).

Jurisdiction under the Kansas long arm statute

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

Related

Gudenkauf Tree Svc. v. Jacobs
Court of Appeals of Kansas, 2021
Emprise Bank v. Rumisek
215 P.3d 621 (Court of Appeals of Kansas, 2009)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
202 P.3d 734, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/mr-cinnamon-of-kansas-inc-v-hall-kanctapp-2009.