W.R. Grace & Co. v. CSR Ltd.

666 N.E.2d 8, 279 Ill. App. 3d 1043, 216 Ill. Dec. 840
CourtAppellate Court of Illinois
DecidedApril 3, 1996
Docket3-95-0176
StatusPublished
Cited by14 cases

This text of 666 N.E.2d 8 (W.R. Grace & Co. v. CSR Ltd.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Appellate Court of Illinois primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
W.R. Grace & Co. v. CSR Ltd., 666 N.E.2d 8, 279 Ill. App. 3d 1043, 216 Ill. Dec. 840 (Ill. Ct. App. 1996).

Opinion

JUSTICE McCUSKEY

delivered the opinion of the court:

John Ensey, Jr., died of mesothelioma on November 26, 1992. John’s wife, Helen Ensey (Ensey), as administrator of his estate, filed her fifth amended complaint on October 15, 1993. Ensey alleges that the defendant, CSR Limited (CSR), a corporation headquartered in Australia and organized under the laws of Australia, sold asbestos to Johns-Manville Corporation (Manville), which incorporated it into transite pipe and transite sheets at its plants throughout the United States, including a plant in Waukegan, Illinois.

John was employed on several jobsites in central Illinois where he worked with the asbestos products allegedly manufactured by Manville. Ensey alleges that CSR’s negligent acts proximately caused the death of her husband.

Ensey’s suit against CSR and seven other defendants was filed in the circuit court of Rock Island County. CSR made a special and limited appearance to file a motion to dismiss the suit based on lack of personal jurisdiction.

On February 9, 1995, the trial court entered an order denying CSR’s motion to dismiss. The trial court found that personal jurisdiction was proper because of two factors: (1) CSR waived its right to challenge personal jurisdiction in Illinois based on a judicial admission it made before the highest court of West Virginia; and (2) personal jurisdiction was proper under the Illinois and United States Constitutions. On March 1, 1995, the trial court denied CSR’s motion to reconsider.

On March 10, 1995, CSR sought leave to file an interlocutory appeal with this court. On April 18, 1995, we denied CSR’s motion for leave to appeal. On May 22, 1995, CSR filed a petition for leave to appeal with the supreme court, which was denied on October 4, 1995. On that same date, the supreme court issued a supervisory order vacating our April 18, 1995, order and remanding the case to this court for a determination on the merits.

For the reasons which follow, we affirm the trial court’s determination that minimum contacts have been established requiring CSR to defend Ensey’s lawsuit in this state. Also, we find that it is reasonable and fair for the courts of this state to exercise personal jurisdiction over CSR.

I. BACKGROUND

Between 1948 and 1966, CSR acted as the sales agent for its partially owned subsidiary that mined raw asbestos fibers. CSR sold the asbestos to Manville, f.o.b. various ports in Australia. Manville then used the asbestos, along with asbestos from various other suppliers from around the world, to manufacture asbestos-containing products at its plants throughout the United States. Manville was one of the world’s largest manufacturers of asbestos products. The record before us establishes that CSR sold Manville 37,000 tons of crocidolite asbestos (blue fiber) from 1948 until 1966.

CSR maintains there is no evidence to support Ensey’s claim that CSR was aware that its blue fiber was coming to Illinois. In oral argument before this court, CSR claimed that if its asbestos made its way to Illinois, Manville is to blame, not CSR. CSR also argues that because there is nothing in the record to show that its blue fiber, and not that of another corporation, is responsible for John’s injuries and death, there is no basis for jurisdiction. We note initially that CSR has confused jurisdictional issues with causation and proof issues. The jurisdictional issue before us is preliminary to, and independent of, any determination of the merits of Ensey’s claims. Heller Financial, Inc. v. Conagra, Inc., 166 Ill. App. 3d 1, 4-5, 520 N.E.2d 922, 924 (1988).

Ensey claims that CSR did more than just sell asbestos to Man-ville without any knowledge of how, where, when and why Manville was using it. Ensey claims that CSR officials met with Manville officials in the United States, promoted expanded use of its blue fiber in various products, advertised its asbestos in a nationally circulated trade publication, and knew of Manville’s uses of its blue fiber, including at a manufacturing plant in Waukegan, Illinois.

II. ANALYSIS

The sole issue before us is whether the trial court was correct in finding that it had personal jurisdiction over CSR. On review, we will not disturb a trial court’s findings concerning its exercise of personal jurisdiction unless they are against the manifest weight of the evidence. Dilling v. Sergio, 263 Ill. App. 3d 191, 195, 635 N.E.2d 590, 593 (1994). Following our careful review of the record, we conclude that Ensey has met her burden of establishing that personal jurisdiction over CSR is proper in this state. Alpert v. Bertsch, 235 Ill. App. 3d 452, 458, 601 N.E.2d 1031, 1035 (1992). Accordingly, we find the trial court’s decision was not against the manifest weight of the evidence.

Because we find that the exercise of personal jurisdiction over CSR is consistent with the requirements of the due process clause, we decline to address the plaintiffs argument that CSR waived its right to challenge the assertion of personal jurisdiction in our courts. As the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit has recently noted: " 'if the contacts between the defendant and Illinois are sufficient to satisfy the requirements of due process, then the requirements of both the Illinois long-arm statute and the U.S. Constitution have been met, and no other inquiry is necessary.’ ” Klump v. Duffus, 71 F.3d 1368, 1371 (7th Cir. 1995), quoting L.B. Foster Co. v. R.R. Service, Inc., 734 F. Supp. 818, 822 (N.D. Ill. 1990); see 735 ILCS 5/2 — 209(c) (West 1994).

To determine whether the exercise of personal jurisdiction is permissible, we look to the limits of the due process clause, as it is interpreted by the United States Supreme Court and our supreme court. Personal jurisdiction over an out-of-state defendant may only be exercised if the defendant has certain "minimum contacts” with the forum state so that requiring the defendant to defend in the forum does not offend “traditional notions of fair play and substantial justice.” International Shoe Co. v. Washington, 326 U.S. 310, 316, 90 L. Ed. 95, 102, 66 S. Ct. 154, 158 (1945); Wiles v. Morita Iron Works Co., 125 Ill. 2d 144, 150, 530 N.E.2d 1382, 1385 (1988). Thus, our analysis must focus on two factors: (1) the defendant’s contacts with Illinois and (2) the fairness or reasonableness of exercising personal jurisdiction over the defendant.

A. MINIMUM CONTACTS

Because this is a "stream of commerce” case, our minimum contacts analysis is controlled primarily by two Supreme Court cases. In Asahi Metal Industry Co. v.

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666 N.E.2d 8, 279 Ill. App. 3d 1043, 216 Ill. Dec. 840, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/wr-grace-co-v-csr-ltd-illappct-1996.