Sayeedi v. Walser

15 Misc. 3d 621
CourtCivil Court of the City of New York
DecidedFebruary 27, 2007
StatusPublished
Cited by17 cases

This text of 15 Misc. 3d 621 (Sayeedi v. Walser) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Civil Court of the City of New York primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Sayeedi v. Walser, 15 Misc. 3d 621 (N.Y. Super. Ct. 2007).

Opinion

[622]*622OPINION OF THE COURT

Philip S. Straniere, J.

Currently, before the court is a request by plaintiff for inquest. Defendant was ordered to appear in the Civil Court of the City of New York, County of Richmond, on Thursday, May 25, 2006. Defendant did not appear. Plaintiff Masood H. Sayeedi, a resident of Staten Island, New York, commenced this action against defendant Timothy D. Walser, a resident of Houston, Missouri, for breach of contract resulting from the Internet sale of an automobile engine. Plaintiff purchased the engine via “eBay.” The plaintiff in support of his claim submitted an engine assessment from U.N. Auto Repair Inc. that states: “engine no good,” “connecting rod broke,” “damge crams shaft [sic],” “engine is no good,” and “need to replace engine.”

Plaintiff also submitted a partial printout (page 2 of 3) of the eBay auction page which describes the engine purchased by plaintiff and sold by defendant. This printout includes information and specifications regarding a “Chevy 350 hi-nickel (3970010) 350 HP” engine, apparently sold by defendant, although no documents make such a connection. According to this printout the engine sold was listed as being in “new” condition, “fresh from the shop” and “built by a pro.” Plaintiff provides bank statements, for an account in the name of “Sayeedi Services,” at First Equity Bank. He points specifically to two transactions, one a $1,150 payment to U.N. Auto. No description of what services were rendered is provided. Second, a $1,444.03 charge to PayPal user “JLWALSER.” Lastly, plaintiff provided notarized proof of service on defendant at his Houston, Missouri, address by the Texas County Sheriffs Office.

eBay is a popular Internet service that provides consumers with a way to buy and sell new or used goods in an auction style format over the Internet. In 1995 eBay was one of the first to pioneer what has now become a ubiquitous form of e-commerce. As facilitators and providers of eBay-type services continue to increase in popularity, courts are, not surprisingly, faced with the task of applying settled law to modern technological dilemmas. The case at bar is a case that requires such application.

A. Do eBay Users Surrender Their Rights to Bring Legal Actions against One Another Upon Agreeing to the Terms and Conditions of the “eBay User Agreement”?

eBay transactions take place only between registered users and both the buyer and the seller must have registered eBay ac[623]*623counts before any sale or purchase can occur. Before an individual can start an eBay account the user must agree to a standard “click through” or “click wrap” agreement setting out eBay’s requirements for membership entitled “eBay user agreement.”1 Although this agreement contains a section entitled “Resolution of Disputes,” said section only governs disputes brought directly against eBay, itself, by users, and not disputes between users. Although dispute resolution options are provided, and albeit encouraged by eBay, the user agreement does not explicitly limit a user’s traditional common-law rights to seek redress for tortious activity. Therefore, an action in Civil Court is an available remedy.

B. Is a Nonresident Defendant Subject to New York Jurisdiction on the Basis of a Single On-Line Auction for Goods Placed on an International Web Site?

The New York City Civil Court Act confers, upon courts, jurisdictional power over nonresidents in three situations. The first is if the nonresident “transacts any business within the city of New York or contracts anywhere to supply goods or services in the city of New York”; the second is if the nonresident “commits a tortious act within the city of New York” (with the exception of defamation); and the third is if the nonresident “owns, uses or possesses any real property within the city of New York.” (CCA 404 [a] [1], [2], [3], respectively.)2

CCA 404’s far-reaching nature has limits. The requirements for personal jurisdiction set out in CCA’s long-arm statute require nothing less than the due process guarantees provided by the United States Constitution. The inquiry and requisite criteria for establishing personal jurisdiction over a nondomiciliary was set out in the seminal United States Supreme Court case International Shoe Co. v Washington (326 US 310, 316 [1945]) and its progeny. An assertion of jurisdiction meets the International Shoe Co. requirements only if the out-of-state de[624]*624fendant has “purposefully directed” his or her activities at residents of the forum, and if the plaintiffs claims “arise out of or relate to” those activities. (Burger King Corp. v Rudzewicz, 471 US 462, 472 [1985].) Isolated contacts may support jurisdiction only if a substantial connection with the forum state is created and such contacts must be more than “random, fortuitous, or attenuated” (id. at 475).

a. Does CCA 404’s “Supply Goods, or Services” Requirement Bypass a Minimum Contacts Analysis or Must One Still be Conducted?

CPLR 302 (a) (1) was amended in 1979 (the language was subsequently incorporated into CCA 404) to permit the assertion of long-arm jurisdiction where the plaintiffs cause of action arises from a contract “to supply goods or services in the state,” without regard to where the contract was made. It is clear that the exercise of jurisdiction is not proper under every set of facts that seemingly fit a straightforward reading under the statute. The stated purpose of CPLR 302 and CCA 404 was to embrace nonresidents who have engaged in purposeful activities in connection with the matter in suit and to extend as far as due process will allow. (Gasarch v Ormand Indus., Inc., 346 F Supp 550 [SD NY 1972].) To determine this limit, New York courts have adopted requirements that mirror the International Shoe Co. test. The New York personal jurisdiction inquiry requires an affirmative answer to the following questions: (1) is the quality of the New York contact of such a nature that a nonresident defendant can be deemed to have purposefully invoked the benefits and protections of New York law, and (2) does the claim in question arise out of that purposeful New York activity. (Hutton v Piepgras, 451 F Supp 205 [SD NY 1978].) As David Siegel notes in CCA 404 Practice Commentaries (at 132) “the case law on [long-arm jurisdiction] is immense and almost every case is just a sui generis inquiry into whether or not the acts performed by the defendant constituted the [necessary] contacts.” (Emphasis added.)

Accordingly, in order to assert jurisdiction under CCA 404 analysis, an inquiry into the twofold minimum contacts test described above must be made.

b. Did the Defendant Transact Any Business within the City of New York or “Contract Anywhere” to Supply Goods, or Services in New York, to a Degree Sufficient to Satisfy Constitutionally Mandated Minimum Contacts?

The defendant in this case created a username, posted an item for sale on eBay, and shipped the item to the highest bid[625]*625der. The New York Court of Appeals has held, on more than one occasion, that the “mere shipment” of goods into New York does not qualify as a sole basis for personal jurisdiction. In order for jurisdiction to attach, any such shipment had to be part of a larger transaction in which the defendant engaged in some relevant acts within the state. (See, e.g., McKee Elec. Co. v Rauland-Borg Corp., 20 NY2d 377 [1967];

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Bluebook (online)
15 Misc. 3d 621, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/sayeedi-v-walser-nycivct-2007.