Pacelli v. FREEJUMPSYSTEM

District Court, W.D. Virginia·Decided July 2, 2025·No. 3:23-cv-00028·Unknown

Opinion

AT CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA FILED July 02, 2025 LAURA A. AUSTIN, CLERK IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT ae FOR THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF VIRGINIA CHARLOTTESVILLE DIVISION

Clarissa Pacelli, ) ) Plaintiff, ) ) v. ) Civil Action No. 3:23-cv-00028 ) FreeJumpSystem, ) ) Defendant. ) ) FreeJumpSystem, ) ) Third-Party Plaintiff, ) Vv. ) ) Helite SAS, ) ) Third-Party Defendant.) ) ) ) MEMORANDUM OPINION This matter is before the court on Third-Party Defendant Helite SAS’s (“Helite’’) motion to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(2). (Dkt. 51 [hereinafter “Mot. to Dismiss”].) For the reasons outlined below, the court will grant Helite’s motion to dismiss. I. Background A. Factual History The following facts are taken from Plaintiff Clarissa Pacelli’s Amended Complaint and Defendant/Third-Party Plaintiff FREEJUMPSYSTEM’s (“FreeJump”) Third-Party

Complaint, and the court presumes them to be true. See Hawkins v. i-TV Digitalis Tavkozlesi zrt., 935 F.3d 211, 226 (4th Cir. 2019) (construing the complaint and affidavits submitted by plaintiff to be true when resolving a Rule 12(b)(2) motion to dismiss when they were not

controverted by evidence from the other party). Pacelli is a resident of the Commonwealth of Virginia, domiciled in Charlottesville, Virginia. (First Am. Compl. ¶ 8 (Dkt. 16).) Pacelli purchased a FreeJump-branded airbag vest from a local equestrian store, and authorized retailer of FreeJump products, called TackNRider on or about September 13, 2020. (Id. ¶ 9.) On May 23, 2021, the FreeJump-branded airbag vest failed to inflate after Pacelli was thrown from her horse. (Third-Party Compl. ¶¶ 11–12 (Dkt. 22).) Pacelli subsequently underwent

two surgeries and endured extensive physical therapy. (Id. ¶ 13.) FreeJump is a French corporation with a principal place of business in Bordeaux, France. (Id. ¶ 2.) FreeJump marketed FreeJump-branded airbag vests to individuals, such as Pacelli, as a “safer and more effective replacement” for other body protectors. (First Am. Compl. ¶ 4.) Helite is a French corporation with its headquarters and principal place of business in

Fontaine Lés Dijon, France. (Third-Party Compl. ¶ 3.) Helite is a private limited liability company. (Decl. of Gérard Thevenot ¶ 4 (Dkt. 52-1).)1 It is not registered to do business in Virginia, it does not have an office in Virginia, it does not have agents or employees in Virginia, and it does not own or lease any property in Virginia. (Id. ¶ 5.)

1 The court “must resolve all factual disputes and draw all reasonable inferences in favor of the party asserting jurisdiction.” Hawkins, 936 F.3d at 226. At the same time, however, the court need not “credit conclusory allegations or draw farfetched inferences.” Maselli & Lane, PC v. Miller & Schub, PA, 215 F.3d 1320 (Table), 2000 WL 691100, at *1 (4th Cir. May 30, 2000) (quoting Ticketmaster-N.Y., Inc. v. Alioto, 26 F.3d 201, 203 (1st Cir. 1994)). Back in April 2019, FreeJump and Helite negotiated a commercial agreement regarding manufacture of equipment for horses and riders. (Id. ¶¶ 6–7.) The parties entered into a non- disclosure agreement related to this commercial transaction and included a forum selection

clause in their agreement, designating Bordeaux’s commercial court in France as the venue of choice in the event of any disputes. (Id. ¶ 7.) As part of this agreement, Helite agreed to share its airbag technology with FreeJump by manufacturing vests. (Id. ¶ 8.) The vests were manufactured by Helite in France. (Id. ¶ 14.) FreeJump then branded and marketed the vests as FreeJump airbag vests. (Id. ¶ 8.) Helite alleged FreeJump ordered roughly 1,500 vests in total during the two companies’ relationship. (Id. ¶ 11.)

It is likely, but not certain, that Helite engineered and/or manufactured the FreeJump airbag vest that Pacelli purchased. That is because FreeJump eventually began manufacturing a competing airbag vest product, resulting in the deterioration of FreeJump and Helite’s relationship by May of 2021. (Id. ¶ 12.) However, because Pacelli purchased the vest on or around September 13, 2020, before the relationship had deteriorated, it appears likely that the product that injured Pacelli was originally manufactured by Helite. (First Am. Compl. ¶ 9.)

Indeed, the third-party complaint indicates that Helite engineered and/or manufactured the vest in question. (Third-Party Compl. ¶ 10.) Still, manager of Helite, Gérard Thevenot’s understanding is that FreeJump began manufacturing its own airbag vest before the end of the two companies’ relationship, suggesting it could have been possible for FreeJump to independently manufacture the vest Pacelli purchased. (Decl. of Gérard Thevenot ¶ 12.) Resolving inferences in FreeJump’s favor, the court considers the FreeJump-branded vest to

have been originally manufactured by Helite in France for the purposes of this motion. At the time Pacelli purchased the vest, Helite had two independent distributors in the United States for its branded products: (1) Hansen Distribution in Wellington, Florida and (2) MaxMOTO in Reno, Nevada. (Decl. of Gérard Thevenot ¶ 16.) MaxMOTO did not sell any

equestrian products. (Id.) Hansen Distribution sold equestrian products to only one Helite dealer in Virginia, a dealer in Warrenton. (Id. ¶¶ 16, 18.) This dealer did not sell any FreeJump- branded airbag vests. (Id. ¶ 18.) Helite also has a nationwide website that lists Helite’s product dealers. (Third-Party Compl. ¶ 7.) B. Procedural History On May 23, 2023, Pacelli brought a class action complaint against FreeJump

Developpement, in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Virginia, Charlottesville Division. (See Compl. (Dkt. 1).) Pacelli filed an amended complaint on March 26, 2024, substituting FreeJump for FreeJump Developpement. (See First Am. Compl. ¶ 16.) Pacelli brought her lawsuit “individually and as a class action . . . on behalf” of two classes, a “Nationwide Class” and a “Virginia Subclass.” (Id. ¶ 59.) The “Nationwide Class” is defined as “[a]ll persons or entities who purchased a Freejump Airbag” while the “Virginia Subclass”

is defined as “[a]ll persons or entities who purchased a Freejump Airbag in the Commonwealth of Virginia. (Id.) The amended complaint includes six counts. Count I alleges that FreeJump infringed upon a written or implied warranty, in violation of the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act, 15 U.S.C. § 2301, et. seq. (Id. ¶¶ 67–79.) Count II alleges that FreeJump breached an implied warranty of merchantability. (Id. ¶¶ 80–92.) Count III alleges that FreeJump breached

contracts “by selling or leasing . . . defective Freejump Airbags and by misrepresenting or failing to disclose material facts . . . .” (Id. ¶¶ 93–98.) Count IV alleges that FreeJump “employed deception, false promise, misrepresentation and the knowing concealment, suppression, or omission of material facts” in distributing, selling, and advertising their

products in violation of Virginia consumer protection law. (Id. ¶¶ 99–109.) Count V alleges that FreeJump was negligent, failing to exercise reasonable care with respect to the FreeJump airbags. (Id. ¶¶ 110–124.) Count VI alleges that FreeJump failed to warn their consumers that the airbags were defective and, thus, subject to strict liability. (Id. ¶¶ 125–42.) FreeJump filed a third-party complaint against Helite on May 29, 2024. (See Third- Party Compl.) This complaint has two counts. Count I alleges a common law contribution

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