Whitmore v. Greeley's Garage
This text of Whitmore v. Greeley's Garage (Whitmore v. Greeley's Garage) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Superior Court of Maine primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.
Opinion
ST ATE OF MAINE SUPERIOR COURT ANDROSCOGGIN, ss CIVIL ACTION DOCKET NO. CV-20-55
Robert Whitmore, ) ) Plaintiff, ) ) v. ) Order Dismissing ) Third-Party Complaint against Greeley's Garage, ) Freightliner of Hartford, Inc. ) Defendant & Third-Party Plaintiff, ) ) v. ) ) Freightliner of Hartford, Inc. and ) ATG Seabrook, LLC., ) ) Third-Party Defendants. )
This case arises out of two troublesome engines in a tractor truck owned by Plaintiff.
The engines had been repaired or rebuilt by Defendant Greeley's Garage. The truck broke down
in Connecticut in November 2019 with the second engine. It was brought to Freightliner's
facility in East Hartford, Connecticut and repaired there (albeit allegedly not successfully). After
some negotiations between Greeley's Garage, Whitmore and Freightliner, Greeley's Garage paid
a portion of Freightliner's bill. When Whitmore sued Greeley's Garage for damages arising out
of the broken-down engines, Greeley's Garage brought a third-party complaint against
Freightliner.
Before the court is the motion of Freightliner of Hartford, Inc. ("Freightliner") to dismiss
the third-party complaint against it for lack of personal jurisdiction. For the reasons stated
below, the motion is granted.
l There is no dispute that Freightliner is a Connecticut corporation with its principal place
of business in East Hartford. It is not registered to do business in Maine, owns no prope1ty in
Maine, has no office or other physical presence in Maine, and has no registered agent in Maine.
The services it petformed were done in Connecticut. Plaintiff sought out Freightliner in
Connecticut; Freightliner did not solicit him. Freightliner advertises in a regional paper in order
to reach its Connecticut customers. That same regional edition circulates in Maine because both
Maine and Connecticut are included in the Northeast Region for the paper. Less than 1% of
Freightliner's total revenue is generated from individuals or entities who reside in or have a
principal of business in Maine.
There were a number of emails and at least one telephone call between Greeley's Garage
and Freightliner on November 8, 2019 regarding Whitmore's truck. Greeley's Garage reached
agreement with Whitmore to pay for half of the repairs at Freightliner. As a result of these
exchanges, Greeley's Garage made payment to Freightliner on November 19, 2019 for a portion
of the cost of the repairs to Whitmore' s truck.
The jurisdictional reach of Maine courts is coextensive with the permissible exercise of
personal jurisdiction under the due process clause of the federal constitution. Harriman v.
Demoulas Supermarkets, Inc., 518 A.2d 1035, 1036 (Me. 1986); 14 M.R.S. § 704-A(l).
To decide that due process permits Maine's assertion of personal jurisdiction over Demoulas, we must affirmatively answer three questions: (l) does the forum state have a legitimate interest in the subject matter of the action; (2) should the defendant by his conduct reasonably have anticipated litigation in the forum state; and (3) would the exercise of jurisdiction comport with "traditional notions of fair play and substantial justice"? (2) Id. The burden is on Greeley's Garage to satisfy the first two prongs of this test. Only once the it
has done so done the burden shift to Freightliner to establish that the exercise of jurisdiction does
2 not comport with traditional notions of fair play and substantial justice. Murphy v. Keenan, 667
A.2d 591,594 (Me. 1995).
Maine's Jong-arm statute lists a number of bases for asserting jurisdiction over a non
resident defendant. Those potentially relevant here include
A. The transaction of any business within this State; B. Doing or causing a tortious act to be done, or causing the consequences of a tortious act to occur within this State; [orJ I. Maintain any other relation to the State or to persons or property which affords a basis for the exercise of jurisdiction by the courts of this State consistent with the Constitution of the United States.
14 M.R.S. § 704-A(2)(A), (B), (I). Greeley's Garage asserts that Freightliner meets the
requirements for jurisdiction by advertising in the Northeast Region edition of a paper,
communicating with Greeley's Garage, and accepting payment from Greeley's. The comt
disagrees. Such actions do not constitute doing business in this state or committing a tortious act
in this state.
The Law Court has long established that simply providing a Maine resident with a forum
for redress against a nonresident is insufficient to establish a legitimate interest in the action.
Rather, "an interest beyond mere citizenry is necessary, such as the protection of its industries,
the safety of its workers, or the location of witnesses and creditors within its border." Murphy,
667 A.2d at 594. None of that is present here.
In addition, there is little about Freightliner's conduct that would lead to the exercise of
jurisdiction. Freightliner did not purposefully direct any activities at Maine residents. Rather,
there was a single transaction with Greeley's through interstate communications that occurred
only because Whitmore's truck was towed to its Connecticut facility and he happened to be a
Maine resident. Whether payment came from Whitmore or Greeley's Garage, that is insufficient
to establish jurisdiction. See Architectural Woodcraft Co. v. Read, 464 A. 2d 210,213 (Me.
3 1983) (No jurisdiction where non-resident Defendant ordered product from resident Plaintiff
which was shipped to him in California).
In short, this court does not find that Maine has a legitimate interest in the subject matter
of this action. This court also does not find that Maine Freightliner by its conduct reasonably
should have anticipated litigation in Maine, nor does the exercise of jurisdiction comport with
traditional notions of fair play and substantial justice. Estate ofHoch v. Stifel, 2011 ME 241[25;
Harriman, 518 A.2d at 1036.
Therefore, the motion of Freightliner to dismiss the third-party complaint against it for
lack of personal jurisdiction is granted. This Order may be incorporated on the docket of the
case by reference pursnant to Me. R. Civ. P. 79(a).
Dated:_ _'-/C_)-+/_1-1/'--'2,o=-=- l Valerie Stanfill Jnstice, Maine Snperior Court
4 ROBERT WHITMORE - PLAINTIFF SUPERIOR COURT ANDROSCOGGIN, ss. Attorney for: ROBERT WHITMORE Docket No AUBSC-CV-2020-00055 BRADFORD A PATTERSHALL - RETAINED LAW OFFICE OF BRADFORD A PATTERSHALL LLC 18 PLEASANT ST SUITE 202 DOCKET RECORD BRUNSWICK ME 04011
vs GREELEYS GARAGE INC - DEFENDANT
Attorney for: GREELEYS GARAGE INC WILLIAM GALLITTO III - RETAINED 05/18/2020 BERGEN & PARKINSON LLC 144 MAIN STREET SACO ME 04072
FREIGHTLINER OF HARTFORD INC - THIRD PARTY DEFENDANT 222 ROBERTS ROAD EAST HARTFORD CT 06108
Attorney for: FREIGHTLINER OF HARTFORD INC FRED W BOPP III - RETAINED 07/30/2020 BOPP & GUECIA 298 MAIN STREET YARMOUTH ME 04096
ATG SEABROOK LLC - THIRD PARTY DEFENDANT
Attorney for: ATG SEABROOK LLC ALLISON A ECONOMY - RETAINED 06/16/2020 RUDMAN & WINCHELL PO BOX 1401 84 HARLOW STREET BANGOR ME 04402-1401
Filing Document: COMPLAINT Minor Case Type: CONTRACT Filing Date: 05/18/2020
Docket Events: 05/19/2020 FILING DOCUMENT COMPLAINT FILED ON 05/18/2020
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