Thomas v. Clark

8 Pa. D. & C.3d 630, 1978 Pa. Dist. & Cnty. Dec. LEXIS 155
CourtPennsylvania Court of Common Pleas, Philadelphia County
DecidedOctober 26, 1978
Docketno. 881
StatusPublished

This text of 8 Pa. D. & C.3d 630 (Thomas v. Clark) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Pennsylvania Court of Common Pleas, Philadelphia County primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Thomas v. Clark, 8 Pa. D. & C.3d 630, 1978 Pa. Dist. & Cnty. Dec. LEXIS 155 (Pa. Super. Ct. 1978).

Opinion

BULLOCK, J.,

— Plaintiff, Wilmer C. Thomas, of Philadelphia, Pa., was involved in an accident on September 19, 1974, in New Jersey when the vehicle he was driving was [631]*631struck in the rear by another vehicle driven by a New Jersey resident.

On September 20, 1974, plaintiff retained Herbert Yaskin, Esq., who is licensed to practice law in Pennsylvania, to represent him in the prosecution of all claims arising out of the September 19, 1974, accident. Plaintiff signed a contingent fee agreement with Mr. Yaskin in Mr. Yaskin’s office.

Mr. Yaskin, by telephone and letter dated January 22, 1975, contacted the law firm of Leibowitz, Krafte 8c Leibowitz of Englewood, N. J. (about 100 miles from Philadelphia), defendants in this action, to prosecute plaintiffs claim in the New Jersey courts. Mr. Yaskin is not a member of the New Jersey bar, nor are the New Jersey attorneys members of the Pennsylvania bar. Defendants accepted plaintiffs case and agreed to pay a one-third referral fee to Mr. Yaskin. Defendants contacted Mr. Yaskin on February 7, 1977, to have plaintiff sign a retainer agreement with them which would be acceptable in the New Jersey courts. On several occasions thereafter, defendants requested Mr. Yaskin to confer with plaintiff and to report to them or to obtain medical reports regarding plaintiff and forward them. Mr. Yaskin complied. At no time did any of the New Jersey attorneys come to Pennsylvania in connection with the case.

On March 7, 1977, plaintiffs case was called for trial in New Jersey and was settled the same day for the sum of $4,500. Plaintiff signed releases in defendants’ office but asked them to hold the releases until he talked with Mr. Yaskin. After plaintiff conferred with Mr. Yaskin, Mr. Yaskin sent explicit instructions to defendants not to forward the release to defendants in the personal injury action. These defendants then moved the New Jersey [632]*632Superior Court to specifically enforce the settlement. After a full hearing at which plaintiff, Joseph A. Clark, Jr., Esq. and Robert D. Curran, Esq., attorney for defendants in that case, testified, the court issued an opinion approving the settlement, and entered an order enforcing it.

The present action is a legal malpractice suit by plaintiff against the New Jersey attorneys alleging mishandling and improper settlement of plaintiffs personal injury action. Service of process was made pursuant to the provisions of Pennsylvania Long Arm Statute of November 15,1972, P.L. 1063, secs. 8301 et seq., 42 Pa.C.S.A. §8301 et seq. Defendants have filed preliminary objections to which plaintiff filed an answer. Thereupon the depositions of plaintiff, Herbert Yaskin, Esq., and Joseph A. Clark, Jr., Esq., were taken. There was no controversy as to the facts we have set forth; the prehminary objections, however, raise a legal issue as to their proper interpretation.

Defendants contend first that this court has no personal jurisdiction over them. The facts upon which the parties rely, pro and con, on this issue are contained in the depositions of plaintiff, Herbert Yaskin, Esq., and Joseph A. Clark, Jr., Esq. Plaintiff, at oral argument, conceded that “the conduct” which warranted service of defendants pursuant to the Long Arm Statute, supra, was that involved in the handling of plaintiffs New Jersey action. They point specifically to the facts that: (1) Defendants signed and sent a power of attorney to referring counsel; this power of attorney constituting an agreement, was signed by plaintiff in his Philadelphia lawyer’s office. (2) Defendants requested Philadelphia counsel to confer with plaintiff and forward information, which was done several [633]*633times. (3) Defendants had Philadelphia counsel obtain medical reports from Philadelphia physicians and forwarded them to defendants in New Jersey. Plaintiff contends that Philadelphia counsel was acting as agent for defendants and that the legal situation is the same as if defendants themselves had come into Philadelphia and had done the acts referred to.

It is clear from Proctor & Schwartz, Inc. v. Cleveland Lumber Co., 228 Pa. Superior Ct. 12,323 A. 2d 11 (1974), that the Pennsylvania Long Arm Statute is intended to give Pennsylvania courts as wide a jurisdiction over foreign parties as the United States Constitution allows. The Constitutional test is described in Proctor & Schwartz as follows p. 19:

“First, the defendant must have purposefully availed itself of the privilege of acting within the forum state thus invoking the benefits and protections of its laws. [Citation omitted.] Secondly, the cause of action must arise from defendant’s activities within the forum state. [Citations omitted.] Lastly, the acts of the defendant must have a substantial enough connection with the forum state to make the exercise of jurisdiction over it reasonable.”

In the present case, we do not believe defendants have availed themselves of the privilege of acting within the forum, thus invoking the benefits and protections of its laws. Physically, defendants have never actually been present in Pennsylvania in connection with this case. A Philadelphia lawyer was co-counsel, taking whatever action had to be taken in Pennsylvania. The fact that by mail defendants entered into agreements with co-counsel and with the client we do not regard as determina[634]*634tive under the circumstances, the contracts not requiring that any action be taken by them in Pennsylvania. It follows from what we have said that we do not believe defendants conducted any activities within Pennsylvania. Similarly, we do not consider that defendants had a substantial connection with Pennsylvania. We note that although Philadelphia’s proximity to New Jersey is such that it might not be considered an unreasonable distance for defendants to travel, plaintiff’s theory would apply just as well to a Pennsylvanian’s accident in Cahfomia, where a California lawyer never set foot outside California, but was invited into the case by Pennsylvania counsel and communicated with the client through Pennsylvania counsel. In both the California situation and the present situation, the foreign attorney really has no contacts with Pennsylvania other than those required by representation of a Pennsylvania resident in a non-Pennsylvania cause of action, with a Pennsylvania attorney as co-counsel. There is here no advertisement or solicitation in Pennsylvania encouraging Pennsylvanians to patronize out-of-state business, as in Garfield v. Homowack Lodge, Inc., 249 Pa. Superior Ct. 392, 378 A. 2d 351 (1977). There is no ordering of goods to be manufactured in Pennsylvania, as in Proctor & Schwartz, supra. There is no sale of a Pennsylvania business as in Schreiber & Weiss v. Ochroch and Wolfe, Add. Deft., 1 P.C.R. 160. There was no forwarding into Pennsylvania of an allegedly defective product, as in Deere v. Zilber, 234 Pa. Superior Ct. 273, 338 A. 2d 615 (1975).

The present case is factually more similar to Gelineau v. New York University Hospital, 375 F. Supp. 661 (D.N.J. 1974). In that case a New [635]*635Jersey couple sued in the New Jersey Federal court (alleging diversity of citizenship) a New York hospital and two blood plasma services, charging medical malpractice. Service on defendants was made in accordance with the New Jersey Long Arm Statute. Defendant’s motion to quash service and to dismiss for lack of in personam jurisdiction was granted. In commenting on the facts, the court stated pp. 668-9:

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Related

Gelineau v. New York University Hospital
375 F. Supp. 661 (D. New Jersey, 1974)
Garfield v. Homowack Lodge, Inc.
378 A.2d 351 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 1977)
Proctor & Schwartz, Inc. v. Cleveland Lumber Co.
323 A.2d 11 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 1974)
Deere v. Zilber
338 A.2d 615 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 1975)

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Bluebook (online)
8 Pa. D. & C.3d 630, 1978 Pa. Dist. & Cnty. Dec. LEXIS 155, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/thomas-v-clark-pactcomplphilad-1978.