Rivera v. Bank One

145 F.R.D. 614, 1993 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 861, 1993 WL 30681
CourtDistrict Court, D. Puerto Rico
DecidedJanuary 14, 1993
DocketCiv. No. 91-2117 (HL)
StatusPublished
Cited by23 cases

This text of 145 F.R.D. 614 (Rivera v. Bank One) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Puerto Rico primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Rivera v. Bank One, 145 F.R.D. 614, 1993 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 861, 1993 WL 30681 (prd 1993).

Opinion

OPINION AND ORDER

LAFFITTE, District Judge.

Before the Court is defendant, Bank One’s (“Bank One”), motion to dismiss the complaint for lack of subject matter and personal jurisdiction, or, in the alternative, to quash plaintiff’s attempted service of defendant for noncompliance with Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 4(d)(3).

Plaintiff claims that Bank One tortiously refused to correct false information concerning a delinquent Visa card account that had mistakenly appeared on his credit report. According to plaintiff the Visa account was fraudulently established in his name. Plaintiff denies ever having applied for or using the card. Despite plaintiff’s attempts to rectify the situation with Bank One’s fraud control unit, defendant refused to take any corrective measures until plaintiff first paid the outstanding balance. The reported delinquency badly tarnished plaintiff’s credit rating. As a result, plaintiff has repeatedly been denied the financing necessary to purchase a home.

PERSONAL JURISDICTION

I. METHODOLOGY OF REVIEW

In a motion to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction, the plaintiff bears the burden of establishing that jurisdiction exists over the non-resident defendant. Boit v. Gar-Tec, 967 F.2d 671, 675 (1st Cir. 1992). In order to meet its burden, plaintiff must make a prima facie showing that jurisdiction exists based on specific facts alleged in the pleadings, affidavits, and exhibits. Ealing Corp. v. Harrods, Ltd., 790 F.2d 978, 979 (1st Cir.1986). In applying the “prima facie” standard, the district court “consider[s] only whether the plaintiff has proffered evidence that, if credited, is enough to support findings of all facts essential to personal jurisdiction.” Boit, 967 F.2d at 675. The “plaintiff must make the showing as to every fact required to satisfy both the forum’s long-arm statute and the due process clause of the Constitution.” Id. (citing, U.S.S. Yachts, Inc. v. Ocean Yachts, Inc., 894 F.2d 9, 11 (1st Cir.1990)).

[617]*617The prima facie showing of personal jurisdiction must be based on evidence which goes beyond the pleadings; some form of affirmative proof is required. Boit, 967 F.2d at 675 (citing, Chlebda v. H.E. Fortna & Bro. Inc., 609 F.2d 1022, 1024 (1st Cir.1979)). If properly supported, proffers of evidence by a plaintiff are, then, to be taken as true. Boit, 967 F.2d at 675 (citing, Dakota Industries, Inc. v. Dakota Sportswear, Inc., 946 F.2d 1384, 1389 (8th Cir.1991)); Murphy v. Erwin-Wasey, Inc., 460 F.2d 661, 663 (1st Cir.1972)).

II. ANALYTICAL FRAMEWORK

In diversity cases, a district court’s power to assert personal jurisdiction over a nonresident defendant is governed by the state's long-arm statute. Pizarro v. Hoteles Concorde Int’l, C.A., 907 F.2d 1256, 1258 (1st Cir.1990). Puerto Rico’s long-arm statute1 has been held to extend to all cases where it is constitutionally permissible. Industrias Siderúrgicas v. Thyssen Steel Caribbean, Inc., 114 D.P.R. 548, 558 (1983); A.H. Thomas Co. v. Superior Court, 98 P.R.R. 864, 870 n. 5 (1970). In the leading case, A.H. Thomas, the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico, relying on Hanson v. Denckla, 357 U.S. 235, 78 S.Ct. 1228, 2 L.Ed.2d 1283 (1958); McGee v. International Life Ins. Co., 355 U.S. 220, 78 S.Ct. 199, 2 L.Ed.2d 223 (1957); and International Shoe Co. v. State of Washington, 326 U.S. 310, 66 S.Ct. 154, 90 L.Ed. 95 (1945), suggested a tripartite test for ascertaining whether personal jurisdiction can be exercised over a nonresident defendant. See, Escude Cruz v. Ortho Pharmaceutical Corp., 619 F.2d 902, 904 (1st Cir. 1980); Pizarro, 907 F.2d at 1258. The test, as summarized in Escude Cruz, provides that:

One, there must be an act done or consummated within the forum by the nonresident defendant. Physical presence is not necessary; the act or transaction may be by mail. Two, the cause of action must arise out of the defendant’s action within the forum state. Three, the activity linking defendant, forum and cause of action must be substantial enough to meet the due process requirements of “fair play and substantial justice.”

Id., 619 F.2d at 904-05 (citing, A.H. Thomas, 98 P.R.R. at 870). Although A.H. Thomas is often cited as binding law by courts in this district and by the First Circuit, the decision has produced far less consistent results in terms of how these courts actually analyze personal jurisdiction. For instance, one recurring issue which has never been explicitly addressed is whether constitutional analysis, by itself, suffices to properly adjudicate personal jurisdiction issues which might otherwise implicate Puerto Rico’s long-arm statute. While the standard adopted in A.H. Thomas clearly mirrors the language of cases dealing with constitutional due process requirements in the context of personal jurisdiction, it was, nevertheless, articulated as a test of whether personal jurisdiction can be obtained under Rule 4.7. Nevertheless, in certain cases, the position appears to be that A.H. Thomas obviates the need for determining whether jurisdiction is authorized under the Puerto Rico long-arm statute. Courts in these cases simply conduct constitutional “minimum contacts” analysis. See e.g., Dalmau Rodriguez v. Hughes Aircraft Co., 781 F.2d 9, 12 (1st Cir.1986); Vencedor Manufacturing Co. Inc. v. Gougler Industries, Inc., 557 F.2d 886, 889 (1st Cir.1977); Viacom International, Inc. v. Three Star Telecast, Inc., 639 F.Supp. 1277 (D.P.R.1986); cf. Boit v. Gar-Tec Products, Inc., 967 F.2d 671 (1st Cir.1992) (following this approach in case involving Maine long-arm statute). In Dalmau Rodriguez, 781 F.2d at 12, for instance, the First Circuit cited A.H. Thomas and stated that the “inquiry into the requirements for state-law jurisdiction is, therefore, telescoped into a due process constitutional analysis.”

In direct contrast to this approach, courts in other cases have analyzed the constitutional dimension of jurisdictional issues, if at all, only after addressing the requirements of the Puerto Rico long-arm [618]*618statute. See e.g., Pizarro v. Hoteles Concorde Intern., C.A., 907 F.2d 1256, 1258 (1st Cir.1990) (granting motion to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction because second prong of A.H. Thomas test was not met); American Exp. Intern., Inc. v. Mendez-Capellan,

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Bluebook (online)
145 F.R.D. 614, 1993 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 861, 1993 WL 30681, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/rivera-v-bank-one-prd-1993.