Williams v. Summit Marine, Inc.

CourtDistrict Court, N.D. New York
DecidedAugust 30, 2019
Docket5:18-cv-00216
StatusUnknown

This text of Williams v. Summit Marine, Inc. (Williams v. Summit Marine, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. New York primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Williams v. Summit Marine, Inc., (N.D.N.Y. 2019).

Opinion

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT NORTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK ________________________________ VINCENT G. WILLIAMS et al., 5:18-cv-216 Plaintiffs, (GLS/ATB) v. SUMMIT MARINE, INC. et al, Defendants, SUMMIT MARINE, INC., Third-Party Plaintiff / Cross-Claimant, v. JOEL POTGETER et al., Third-Party Defendants / Cross-Defendants. ________________________________ APPEARANCES: OF COUNSEL: FOR THE PLAINTIFFS: Bottar, Leone Law Firm ANTHONY S. BOTTAR, ESQ. 120 Madison Street SAMANTHA C. RIGGI, ESQ. Suite 1600 AXA Tower II - 16th Floor Syracuse, NY 13202 FOR THE DEFENDANTS: Summit Marine, Inc. Vigorito, Barker, Patterson, Nichols GREGG D. WEINSTOCK, ESQ. & Porter LLP 300 Garden City Plaza Suite 308 Garden City, NY 11530 Joel Potgeter & Automated Innovations & Machining, LLC. Roemer Wallens Gold & Mineaux LLP MATTHEW J. KELLY, ESQ. 13 Columbia Circle Albany, NY 12203 Gary L. Sharpe Senior District Judge MEMORANDUM-DECISION AND ORDER I. Introduction This action involves an allegedly faulty boat lift that injured plaintiffs Vincent and Trajanka Williams. (Am. Compl., Dkt. No. 21.) Plaintiffs blame the boat lift manufacturer, Summit Marine, Inc., the component part manufacturer, Automated Innovations and Machining, LLC, and its

president, Joel Potgeter (hereinafter “Automated defendants”). (Id.) Summit Marine blames Automated defendants. (Dkt. No. 14.) Pending is Automated defendants’ motion to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction,

(Dkt. No. 29), which is granted for the following reasons. II. Background

2 A. Facts1 On September 18, 2016, Vincent Williams was using a boat lift in

Clayton, New York “when [it] malfunctioned, causing him severe, permanent[,] and disabling injuries.” (Dkt. No. 14 at 18; Am. Compl. ¶ 11.) Consequently, Vincent’s wife, Trajanka, suffered a “loss of services,

society, companionship[,] and consortium.” (Am. Compl. ¶¶ 2, 78.) Summit Marine, a foreign corporation authorized to do business in New York with a principle place of business in Michigan, was responsible for “designing, manufacturing, testing, marketing, producing, distributing,

selling[,] and delivering” the boat lift, (id. ¶¶ 3, 4), which was manufactured in Michigan, (Dkt. No. 30, Attachs. 1 at 5 ¶ 7, 2 ¶ 7). “[T]he defective nature of the boat lift existed at the time the boat lift left control of Summit

[Marine] and/or was introduced into the stream of commerce by Summit [Marine].” (Am. Compl. ¶ 25.) At all times relevant to this action, Potgeter was the president of

Automated, a limited liability company organized under the laws of

1 Unless otherwise noted, the facts are drawn from plaintiffs’ amended complaint as well as Summit Marine’s third-party complaint and presented in the light most favorable to them. 3 Michigan, which was allegedly authorized and/or licensed to conduct business in New York and “was and is doing business within . . . New

York.”2 (Dkt. No. 14 ¶¶ 2-6; Am. Compl. ¶¶ 5-10; Dkt. No. 29, Attach. 8 ¶ 4.) Automated contracted with Summit Marine to provide them with a limited number of component parts but was not Summit Marine’s exclusive

provider. (Dkt. No. 29, Attach. 8 ¶¶ 4, 12, 14.) Nonetheless, Automated allegedly “designed, manufactured, tested, marketed, distributed, sold[,] or delivered the winch brake of the boat lift.” (Dkt. No. 14 ¶ 12; Am. Compl. ¶ 5.) However, Automated never entered New York for any business

purpose, including advertising. (Dkt. No. 29, Attach. 8 ¶ 19.) B. Procedural History Plaintiffs removed this action from New York Supreme Court on

February 16, 2018. (Dkt. No. 1.) Their original complaint named only

2 Potgeter attests that he never transacted business in New York and Automated was not licensed to do business in New York. (Compare Dkt. No. 29, Attach. 8 ¶¶ 18, 20, with Dkt. No. 14 ¶¶ 2-6; Am. Compl. ¶¶ 5-10.) However, at this stage, an affidavit may not be used to controvert the pleadings. See infra Part III. And the court declines Automated defendants’ invitation to convert their motion to dismiss into one for summary judgment. See Islip U-Slip LLC v. Gander Mountain Co., 2 F. Supp. 3d 296, 305 (N.D.N.Y. 2014) (denying request for conversion where unlikely to facilitate disposition of action). 4 Summit Marine and asserted claims of negligence, strict products liability, breach of warranty, and loss of consortium. (Compl. ¶¶ 6, 11, 16, 18, Dkt.

No. 2.) On October 15, 2018, after limited discovery, Summit Marine filed a third-party complaint, which sought indemnification and/or contribution from Automated defendants. (Dkt. No. 14 ¶¶ 14, 16, 18, 20; Text Minute

Entry of July 16, 2018; Text Minute Entry of Sept. 17, 2018.) Thereafter, plaintiffs filed an amended complaint, which asserts claims of negligence, strict products liability, breach of warranty, and loss of consortium against Summit Marine and Automated defendants. (Am. Compl. ¶¶ 16-79.) In

turn, Summit Marine filed a cross-claim against Automated defendants. (Dkt. No. 23.) Automated defendants’ motion to dismiss pursuant to Fed. R. Civ.

P. 12(b)(2) and 12(b)(6) followed. (Dkt. No. 29.) The March 1, 2019 discovery deadline, (Dkt. No. 11 at 1), was stayed on February 7, 2019 pending resolution of the motion, (Dkt. No. 39).

III. Standard of Review “When responding to a Rule 12(b)(2) motion to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction, the plaintiff bears the burden of establishing that the court has jurisdiction over the defendant.” Bank Brussels Lambert v.

5 Fiddler Gonzalez & Rodriguez, 171 F.3d 779, 784 (2d Cir. 1999) (internal citation omitted). In assessing such a motion, a court may consider

materials outside the pleadings. See Dorchester Fin. Sec., Inc. v. Banco BRJ, 722 F.3d 81, 86 (2d Cir. 2013); see also Marine Midland Bank, N.A. v. Miller, 664 F.2d 899, 904 (2d Cir. 1981) (“[A] district court has

considerable procedural leeway. It may determine the motion on the basis of affidavits alone; or it may permit discovery in aid of the motion; or it may conduct an evidentiary hearing on the merits of the motion.”) (collecting cases). However, prior to the completion of discovery, “the

plaintiff’s prima facie showing [of personal jurisdiction] may be established solely by allegations.” Dorchester, 722 F.3d at 84, 86 (quoting Ball v. Metallurgie Hoboken–Overpelt, S.A., 902 F.2d 194, 197 (2d Cir. 1990)

(rejecting proposition that defendant may, on a Rule 12(b)(2) motion, refute plaintiff’s unsupported allegations with specific testimonial evidence regarding fact essential to personal jurisdiction)); see Hollins v. U.S.

Tennis Ass’n, 469 F. Supp. 2d 67, 70 (E.D.N.Y. 2006) (“Plaintiffs may rely entirely on allegations of fact, and they will prevail even if the moving party makes contrary allegations which controvert their prima facie case.”) (internal quotation marks and citations omitted).

6 In deciding whether a plaintiff has made a prima facie showing of jurisdiction, the court “construe[s] the pleadings and affidavits in the light

most favorable to plaintiffs, resolving all doubts in their favor.” Chloé v. Queen Bee of Beverly Hills, LLC, 616 F.3d 158, 163 (2d Cir. 2010) (internal quotation marks and citation omitted). However, the plaintiff

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