Brief Fact Summary. Plaintiffs, representatives of the estates of former employees of Defendant, sued Defendant, a helicopter company, in Texas court after a helicopter crash in Peru killed several employees. Defendant is a Colombia corporation which was engaged in a joint venture based in Texas and had some contacts with Texas pertaining to the purchasing of helicopters and the training of its pilots. Defendant moved to dismiss the case based on lack of personal jurisdiction.
Synopsis of Rule of Law. For a court to exercise general in personam jurisdiction, the defendant must engage in systematic and continuous contacts with the forum state unless the defendant’s contacts are related to the cause of action.
Issue. Are purchasing products and training employees in the forum state, even on a regular basis, sufficient contacts to exercise in personam jurisdiction when the action does not arise from the contact with the state?
Held. No. Judgment reversed.
When a controversy “arises out of” a defendant’s contact with the forum state, there has to be a relationship among the defendant, the forum, and the litigation. If there are sufficient contacts between the forum state and the defendant, then there may still be in personam jurisdiction even though the action does not arise out of Defendant’s contact with the forum state.
This action does not arise out of Defendant’s contact with the forum state. It must be therefore determined whether Defendant’s contacts were systematic and continuous.
One trip by Defendant’s Chief Executive Officer is not sufficient in order to confer general personal jurisdiction. Contacts must be continuous and systematic under [Perkins v. Benguet Consolidated Mining Co., 342 U.S. 437, 72 S.Ct. 413, 96 L.Ed. 485 (1952)]. The checks that Defendant received that were drawn on a Texas bank were not appropriate for consideration. There is no evidence that Defendant requested they be drawn on a Texas bank . The bank on which a check is drawn is up to the discretion of the drawer.
The purchasing of helicopters and training in Texas is not a sufficient contact to justify general in personam jurisdiction under [Rosenberg Bros. & Co. v. Curtis Brown Co., 260 U.S. 516 (1923)], which held that mere purchases are not sufficient contacts. If the purchase not related to the action, or if it can’t be proved that it enhanced the nature of Defendant’s contacts with Texas, it is not sufficient under the test in Rosenberg.
Mere purchases, even if occurring at regular intervals, are not enough to warrant a State's assertion of in personam jurisdiction over a nonresident corporation in a cause of action not related to those purchase transactions.
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