Short v. Wesley Medical Center, L.L.C.

649 F. Supp. 2d 1320, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 70922, 2009 WL 2486326
CourtDistrict Court, W.D. Oklahoma
DecidedAugust 12, 2009
DocketCase CIV-08-984-M
StatusPublished

This text of 649 F. Supp. 2d 1320 (Short v. Wesley Medical Center, L.L.C.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, W.D. Oklahoma primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Short v. Wesley Medical Center, L.L.C., 649 F. Supp. 2d 1320, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 70922, 2009 WL 2486326 (W.D. Okla. 2009).

Opinion

ORDER

VICKI MILES-LaGRANGE, Chief Judge.

Before the Court is defendant’s Motion to Dismiss for Lack of Jurisdiction, filed November 24, 2008. On March 19, 2009, plaintiffs filed their response, and on April 9, 2009, defendant filed its reply. Based upon the parties’ submissions, the Court makes its determination.

I. Introduction

On January 7, 2007, plaintiff Steve Short was injured in an automobile collision that occurred near Braman, Oklahoma. He was taken to Blackwell Regional Hospital in Blackwell, Oklahoma. Due to the severity of his injuries, he was then air transported to Wesley Medical Center in Wichita, Kansas. Defendant owns and operates Wesley Medical Center. The care and treatment plaintiff Steve Short received at Wesley Medical Center gives rise to this medical malpractice case.

II. Discussion

Defendant asserts that it does not have the requisite “minimum contacts” with Oklahoma for this Court to exercise personal jurisdiction over it. A plaintiff bears the burden of establishing personal jurisdiction over a defendant. Intercon, Inc. v. Bell Atl. Internet Solutions, Inc., 205 F.3d 1244, 1247 (10th Cir.2000). When a motion to dismiss for lack of jurisdiction is decided on the basis of affidavits and other written material:

the plaintiff need only make a prima facie showing that jurisdiction exists. The allegations in the complaint must be taken as true to the extent they are uncontroverted by the defendant’s affidavits. If the parties present conflicting affidavits, all factual disputes must be resolved in the plaintiffs favor, and the plaintiffs prima facie showing is sufficient notwithstanding the contrary presentation by the moving party. However, only the well pled facts of plaintiffs complaint, as distinguished from mere conclusory allegations, must be accepted as true.

Id. (internal citations omitted).

“To obtain personal jurisdiction over a nonresident defendant in a diversity action, a plaintiff must show both that jurisdiction is proper under the laws of the forum state and that the exercise of jurisdiction would not offend due process.” Id. Oklahoma’s long-arm statute permits the exercise of any jurisdiction that is consistent with the United States Constitution; consequently, “the personal jurisdiction in *1323 quiry under Oklahoma law collapses into the single due process inquiry.” Id.

“The Due Process Clause permits the exercise of personal jurisdiction over a nonresident defendant ‘so long as there exist minimum contacts between the defendant and the forum State.’ ” Id. (quoting World-Wide Volkswagen Corp. v. Woodson, 444 U.S. 286, 291, 100 S.Ct. 559, 62 L.Ed.2d 490 (1980)). The “minimum contacts” standard may be met in two ways: general jurisdiction or specific jurisdiction. 1 “When a plaintiffs cause of action does not arise directly from a defendant’s forum-related activities, the court may nonetheless maintain general personal jurisdiction over the defendant based on the defendant’s business contacts with the forum state.” Intercon, 205 F.3d at 1247. General jurisdiction arises when a defendant’s contacts with the forum state are “continuous and systematic.” Helicopteros Nacionales de Colombia, S.A. v. Hall, 466 U.S. 408, 416, 104 S.Ct. 1868, 80 L.Ed.2d 404 (1984).

Plaintiffs assert that defendant has sufficient continuous and systematic contacts with Oklahoma to subject it to the Court’s general jurisdiction. Specifically, Plaintiffs rely upon the following contacts to support this Court’s general jurisdiction: (1) defendant’s Medicaid agreement with the Oklahoma Healthcare Authority and defendant’s agreement with the Oklahoma City Area Indian Health Service; (2) defendant’s affiliation agreements with the Board of Regents of the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center — the College of Allied Health and with the Oklahoma State University Center for Health Services, College of Osteopathic Medicine; (3) defendant’s contract with Linen King; (4) defendant’s laboratory service agreement with the OU Medical Center; (5) defendant’s routine treatment of patients from Oklahoma and the income defendant receives from said treatment; (6) the collection and garnishment actions defendant has filed in Oklahoma courts; (7) the statements on defendant’s website regarding defendant’s treatment of patients from Kansas and Northern Oklahoma; and (8) defendant’s billing of plaintiff Steve Short in Oklahoma for services rendered to him.

Having carefully considered all of the above contacts, the Court finds that defendant’s contacts with Oklahoma, considered separately and in combination, are not sufficiently continuous and systematic to subject defendant to this Court’s general jurisdiction. Specifically, the Court finds that defendant’s participation in Oklahoma’s Medicaid program and defendant’s agreement with the Oklahoma City Area Indian Health Service to allow defendant to recoup its expenses for treating certain Oklahoma Native Americans is not enough to establish general jurisdiction over defendant. See Harlow v. Children’s Hosp., 432 F.3d 50 (1st Cir.2005); Boyd v. Green, 496 F.Supp.2d 691, 703-05 (W.D.Va.2007) (finding that defendant could not be subject to general jurisdiction based on Medicaid participation in forum state). Additionally, the Court finds that defendant is not conducting business in Oklahoma by virtue of the affiliation agreements; these agreements simply allow Oklahoma medical students to rotate through the Wesley Medical Center in Wichita, Kansas. The Court further finds that defendant’s linen contract and laboratory service agreement are only de mini-mus contacts that have no bearing on the jurisdictional analysis. See Wolf v. Richmond County Hosp. Auth., 745 F.2d 904, 911 (4th Cir.1984) (finding provision of laundry service is de minimus contact); Boyd, 496 F.Supp.2d at 713 (finding com *1324 puter service contract is de minimus contact).

Additionally, the Court finds the fact that defendant routinely treats patients from Oklahoma at the Wesley Medical Center in Wichita, Kansas, receives income from that treatment, and references that treatment on its website is not continuous and systematic contact with OMahoma. As the First Circuit has held:

Treating patients from Maine in Massachusetts, even on a regular basis, is not the same as engaging in continuous and systematic activity in Maine.

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Related

World-Wide Volkswagen Corp. v. Woodson
444 U.S. 286 (Supreme Court, 1980)
Helicopteros Nacionales De Colombia, S. A. v. Hall
466 U.S. 408 (Supreme Court, 1984)
Harlow v. Children's Hospital
432 F.3d 50 (First Circuit, 2005)
Boyd Ex Rel. Estate of Boyd v. Green
496 F. Supp. 2d 691 (W.D. Virginia, 2007)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
649 F. Supp. 2d 1320, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 70922, 2009 WL 2486326, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/short-v-wesley-medical-center-llc-okwd-2009.