Smith v. Basin Park Hotel, Inc.

178 F. Supp. 2d 1225, 2001 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 22034, 2001 WL 1682810
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. Oklahoma
DecidedDecember 27, 2001
Docket4:01-cv-00357
StatusPublished
Cited by13 cases

This text of 178 F. Supp. 2d 1225 (Smith v. Basin Park Hotel, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. Oklahoma primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Smith v. Basin Park Hotel, Inc., 178 F. Supp. 2d 1225, 2001 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 22034, 2001 WL 1682810 (N.D. Okla. 2001).

Opinion

ORDER 1

JOYNER, United States Magistrate Judge.

Now before the Court is Basin Park Hotel, Inc.’s motion to dismiss, pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(2) and (3), for lack of personal jurisdiction and venue. Doc. No. 6. The Court set this motion for evidentia-ry hearing, and received evidence from the parties on December 4, 2001. See Doc. No. 18. Having considered the parties’ briefs and the evidence received on December 4th, the Court finds that Plaintiff has failed to carry her burden of establishing that this Court has personal jurisdiction over Basin Park Hotel (“BPH”).

I. INTRODUCTION

A. Background

Plaintiff is a resident of Tulsa, Oklahoma. Defendant is a corporation incorporated in the state of Arkansas, with its only place of business in Eureka Springs, Arkansas. Defendant operates the Basin Park Hotel in Eureka Springs. Plaintiff stayed at Defendant’s hotel in May 1999. In her Amended Complaint, Plaintiff alleges that on May 30, 1999, she slipped, fell and injured herself in a stairwell at Defendant’s hotel. Plaintiff has sued Defendant for negligence, alleging that Defendant negligently maintained the stairwell’s hand rails, carpet, risers and lighting. See Doc. No. 2.

B. Defendant’s Contacts With Oklahoma

At the December 4th evidentiary hearing, Plaintiff established that Defendant had the following contacts with Oklahoma:

*1228 Defendant maintains a website with the following address: http://www.basm-park.com. 2 This website is accessible by anyone with access to the Internet, including Oklahoma residents with access to the Internet. The BPH website provides general information about the hotel. See Plaintiffs Hearing Exhibit 3. The website lists a 1-800 number for the hotel, and provides users with the ability to send an email to the hotel requesting information. Id. There is no evidence that Plaintiff ever viewed or used BPH’s website.

The BPH website also allows users to “make an on-line reservation request.” Id. (emphasis added). When this link is selected, the user is asked to fill out an online form, which requests basic information including the user’s email address and the dates the user would like to stay at the hotel. See http://www.basinpark.com/res-ervations.html (Dec. 11, 2001). Once the user completes and electronically submits the form, the form is sent via email to BPH, and a webpage is displayed on the user’s monitor which states: “Thanks for your request. We will contact you shortly!” See http://basinpark.com/thanks.html (Dec. 11, 2001). The user also receives an immediate email at the address specified in the form submitted to the hotel. The email again thanks the user for her “inquiry,” and provides detailed information about the hotel’s amenities. See Plaintiffs Hearing Exhibit 4.

The Greater Eureka Springs Chamber of Commerce (“GESCC”) maintains a website at http://www.eurekaspringscham-ber.com. This website is accessible by anyone with access to the Internet, including Oklahoma residents with access to the Internet. The website contains a link for member services, and a link on the member services page for Motels and Hotels. See http://www.eurekaspringschamber. com/member_listings/index.html. BPH is listed on the motels and hotels page, with a reference to BPH’s address, phone number, and website. See generally Plaintiffs Hearing Exhibit 3. There is no evidence in the record that Plaintiff ever viewed or used GESCC’s website.

Travelocity.com is a one-stop travel website on the Internet which provides online air, car and hotel reservations. See http://www.travelocity.com. This website is accessible by anyone with access to the Internet, including Oklahoma residents with access to the Internet. Through Tra-velocity’s website, a user can actually book, with a credit card, a room at Defendant’s hotel. See Plaintiffs Hearing Exhibit 2. There is no evidence in the record regarding the nature of the relationship between BPH and Travelocity. There is also no evidence in the record that Plaintiff ever viewed or used Travelocity’s website.

The Northwest Arkansas Tourism Association (“NATA”) prints and distributes a Vacation Information Guide titled the Northwest Arkansas Ozark Mountains for the 2001 season. See Plaintiffs Hearing Exhibit 1. The guide contains a two page layout, advertising the city of Eureka Springs, Arkansas, where the Defendant’s hotel is located. One page of the layout is taken out by the Eureka Springs Visitors Bureau, and the other is take out by the Eureka Springs Chamber of Commerce. There is no information on either page about Defendant’s hotel. On the visitors bureau page, however, there is a picture of Defendant’s hotel. The NATA brochure indicates that it was “paid for with a com *1229 bination of state funds and private regional association funds.” There is, however, no evidence that Defendant is connected in any way with the NATA brochure. Plaintiff did receive a copy of the brochure at her Broken Arrow, Oklahoma residence, although not until after her stay at Defendant’s hotel.

Defendant argues that these contacts are not sufficient under the due process clause of the United States Constitution to subject it to this Court’s jurisdiction. 3

II. DISCUSSION

A. Procedure And Burden Of Proof

Because the personal jurisdiction issue raised by Defendant does not require the resolution of factual issues which also relate to the merits of this litigation, the Court held a pretrial evidentiary hearing to resolve Defendant’s motion to dismiss. See FDIC v. Oaklawn Apartments, 959 F.2d 170, 174 (10th Cir.1992) (holding that district courts have wide “discretion in determining the procedure to employ in considering a motion to dismiss for lack of jurisdiction”). “[Wjhen the district court holds a pretrial evidentiary hearing to resolve factual disputes relating to jurisdictional questions, the plaintiff has the burden to prove facts supporting jurisdiction by a preponderance of the evidence.” Id. Plaintiff must, therefore, establish by a preponderance of the evidence that this Court has personal jurisdiction over BPH.

B. Standards For Evaluating Personal Jurisdiction

The United States Supreme Court has held that individuals have a liberty interest, protected by the due process clause, in not being subject to the binding judgments of a forum with which the individual has established no meaningful contacts, ties or relations. Burger King Corp. v. Rudzewicz,

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Bluebook (online)
178 F. Supp. 2d 1225, 2001 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 22034, 2001 WL 1682810, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/smith-v-basin-park-hotel-inc-oknd-2001.