In re Hydroxycut Mktg. & Sales Practices Litig.

• Citation: 810 F.Supp.2d 1100
• Decision Date: 29 August 2011
• Docket Number: Case No. 09md2087BTM (CAB).
• Parties: In re HYDROXYCUT MARKETING AND SALES PRACTICES LITIGATION.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Southern District of California

810 F.Supp.2d 1100

In re HYDROXYCUT MARKETING AND SALES PRACTICES LITIGATION.

Case No. 09md2087BTM (CAB).

United States District Court, S.D. California.

Aug. 29, 2011.

Gayle M. Blatt, Casey, Gerry, Schenk, Francavilla, Blatt & Penfield LLP, Todd D. Carpenter, Tonna K. Farrar, Bonnett, Fairbourn, Friedman & Balint, P.C., Timothy Gordon Blood, Thomas Joseph O'Reardon, II, Blood Hurst & O'Reardon LLP, Harold M. Hewell, Hewell Law Firm, James R. Patterson, Patterson Law Group, APC, Wendy Michelle Behan, Casey Gerry Schenk Francavilla Blatt & Penfield, Luis E. Lorenzana, Mazzarella Caldarelli LLP, Alexander M. Schack, Geoffrey Spreter, Law Offices of Alexander M. Schack, San Diego, CA, Patricia N. Syverson, Elaine A. Ryan, Andrew S. Friedman, pro hac vice, Bonnett Fairbourn Friedman and Balint PC, Phoenix, AZ, William C. Wright, The Wright Law Office, P.A., West Palm Beach, FL, John R.S. McFarlane, Milberg LLP, Kendra Yun Joo Goldhirsch, Weitz & Luxenburg PC, Theodore Oshman, Oshman & Mirisola LLP, Patrick J. Sheehan, Whatley Drake & Kallas, LLC, Christopher A. Seeger, Christopher Matthew Van de Kieft, Jeffrey S. Grand, Seeger Weiss LLP, David B. Satisky, Belluck & Fox, LLP, New York, NY, Mark W. Davis, Martin Daniel Crump, Trevor Bruce Rockstad, Davis & Crump, Leslie Hancock Lang, Gulfport, MS, Geoffrey Patton Culbertson, Nicholas H. Patton, Patton Tidwell & Schroeder, LLP, Texarkana, TX, Donald A. Ecklund, James E. Cecchi, Lindsey H. Taylor, Carella Byrne Cecchi Olstein Brody & Agnello, Roseland, NJ, Bradley H. Mallett, Darrell Wayne Downs, R. Stratton Taylor, Taylor Burrage Foster Mallett Downs & Ramsey, Claremore, OK, Michael C Dodge, pro hac vice, Glast, Phillips & Murray, P.C., G. Kevin Buchanan, Melissa J. Bellan, Buchanan & Bellan LLP, Dallas, TX, Ross T. Anderson, The Rex Carr Law Firm, LLC, East Saint Louis, IL, Peter Bumerts, Law Office of Peter Bumerts, Santa Rosa, CA, Roger W. Orlando, The Orlando Firm PC, Decatur, GA, Bruce Daniel Greenberg, Jason Elliot Macias, Jennifer Sarnelli, Lite, DePalma, Greenberg & Rivas, LLC, Newark, NJ, E. Kirk Wood, Jr., Wood Law Firm LLC, Calvin Carter Clay, Tom E. Dutton, Pittman Dutton & Hellum PC, Jon Collins Conlin, Cory Watson Crowder & DeGaris PC, Jon C. Conlin, Annesley H. DeGaris, Stephen R. Hunt, Jr., Cory Watson Crowder & DeGaris, Birmingham, AL, Scott D. Perlmuter, Thomas D. Robenalt, Novak, Robenalt & Pavlik, Cleveland, OH, Philip Bohrer, Bohrer Law Firm, L.L.C., Baton Rouge, LA, John T. Boundas, Williams Kherkher et al., Houston, TX, Steve Pell, Steve Pell Law Offices, Ventura, CA, Ann E Brown–Graff, Brad J Brady, Brady & O'Shea, Larry D. Helvey, Larry Helvey Law Firm, Cedar Rapids, IA, Gregory L. Davis, Montgomery, AL, Ralph C. Hardesty, Hardesty & Associates, Robert D. Kreisman, Kreisman Law Offices, Eric David Freed, Freed & Weiss LLC, Richard J. Rosenblum, Rubin and Machado, Chicago, IL, Jay M. Wolman, Saba B. Hashem, D'Angelo & Hashem, LLC, Boston, MA, Anne Andrews, John C. Thornton, Andrews and Thornton, Daniel M. Hodes, Hodes Milman LLP, Irvine, CA, Thomas E. Rockett, III, Law Offices of Thomas E Rockett III, Brea, CA, Joseph Lawrence Dunn, The Senators Ret Law Firm, Santa Ana, CA, Ellen Relkin, Weitz and Luxenberg, Cherry Hill, NJ, Brian J. Devine, Kenneth M. Seeger, Seeger Salvas LLP, Timothy M. Hamilton, Clarissa Elaine Kearns, Walker Hamilton & Koenig LLP, Aleksey G. Tovarian, Law Offices of Aleksey G. Tovarian, Amelia D. Winchester, David R. Ongaro, Ongaro Burtt LLP, San Francisco, CA, Jonathan Shub, Seeger Weiss LLP, Philadelphia, PA, Gene J. Stonebarger, Stonebarger Law, APC, Folsom, CA, Michael S. Brandner, Jr., Brandner Law Firm, LLC, Glenn Charles McGovern, Law Office of Glenn C. McGovern, Metairie, LA, Stephen S. Kreller, The Kreller Law Firm, Allan Berger, Allan Berger and Associates, New Orleans, LA, Douglass Alan Kreis, Neil Duane Overholtz, Aylstock Witkin Kreis & Overholtz, PLLC, Pensacola, FL, Howard Mitchell Bushman, Lance A. Harke, Sarah Clasby Engel, Harke & Clasby, Miami, FL, Allen Woods, Larry D. Woods, W. Patrick Thurman, Law Offices of Woods & Woods, Nashville, TN, Harry F. Bell, Jr., Roger L. Lambert, The Bell Law Firm, Charleston, WV, Graham B. LippSmith, Howard B. Miller, Thomas V. Girardi, Girardi and Keese, A. Illyas Akbari, Kate E. Gillespie, Roger D. Drake, Ronald L.M. Goldman, Baum Hedlund Aristei & Goldman PC, Miriam L. Schimmel, Sue J. Kim, Initiative Legal Group, APC, Carla V. Minnard, Carolin Shining, Roland Lee Coleman, Jr., Simona A. Farrise, Farrise Firm PC, Los Angeles, CA, Gale D. Pearson, Pearson, Randall, Schumacher & LaBore, PA, Minneapolis, MN, Richard Joshua Hood, Andrus Hood & Wagstaff PC, Denver, CO, Stephen A. Corr, Mellon Webster & Shelly, Doylestown, PA, Fred Thompson, III, Motley Rice LLC, Mt. Pleasant, SC, for Plaintiffs.

Alexandria Armida Amezcua, Arturo J. Gonzalez, William F. Tarantino, Morrison & Foerster LLP, San Francisco, CA, DeWitt M. Shy, Jr., Taylor A. Cates, Burch, Porter & Johnson, PLLC, Memphis, TN, Ilona I. Korzha, Joseph A. Boyle, Lauri A. Mazzuchetti, Kelley Drye Warren, LLP, Parsippany, NJ, Ronald E. Tigner, Cozen & O'Connor, Houston, TX, Kenan G. Loomis, Lynnette D. Espy, Cozen & O'Connor, Atlanta, GA, Kristen S. Moore, William S. Cline, Day, Ketterer, Raley, Wright & Rybolt, Canton, OH, Daniel R. Johnson, Cozen O'Connor, Chicago, IL, David John Fioccola, Ryan Whitecomb Borho, Morrison & Foerster LLP, Joseph A. Boyle, Kelley Drye & Warren LLP, New York, NY, James K. Tinney, John H. Tinney, John H. Tinney, Jr., The Tinney Law Firm, Charleston, WV, John W. McGuinness, Kelley Drye & Warren, Washington, DC, Sherril May Colombo, Wilson Elser, Tia Christine Ghattas, Stephanie Handler, Cozen O'Connor, Miami, FL, Beverly Klundt Baudouin, David Louis Carrigee, William Bryon Schwartz, Baldwin, Haspel, Burke & Mayer, LLC, New Orleans, LA, Michael P. Crooks, Peterson, Johnson & Murray, S.C., Madison, WI, Erin McCalmon Bosman, Jae Hong Lee, Morrison and Foerster, San Diego, CA, Evan B. Caplan, Cozen O'Connor, Philadelphia, PA, Gary S. Chilton, James E. Warner, Holladay & Chilton PLLC, Oklahoma City, OK, Gray M. Borden, Jere F. White, Jr., Sara Anne Ford, Lightfoot Franklin & White LLC, Birmingham, AL, Paul D. Popeo, Choate, Hall & Stewart, Boston, MA, for Defendants.

[REDACTED] ORDER DENYING KERR INVESTMENT HOLDING CORP. F/K/A IOVATE HEALTH SCIENCES GROUP INC.'S MOTION TO DISMISS FOR LACK OF PERSONAL JURISDICTION

BARRY TED MOSKOWITZ, District Judge.

Defendant Kerr Investment Holding Corp. f/k/a Iovate Health Sciences Group Inc. (“Kerr”), has filed a consolidated motion to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction under Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(2). In a number of the individual cases, Kerr has filed separate motions to dismiss for lack or personal jurisdiction that incorporate by reference the briefing on the consolidated motion. For the reasons discussed below, Kerr's motions are DENIED.

I. BACKGROUND

On December 22, 2009, twenty named plaintiffs filed a First Consolidated Amended Class Action Complaint (“CCA Complaint”) in this case against Kerr, Iovate Health Sciences, Inc. (“Iovate Sciences”), Iovate Health Sciences U.S.A. Inc. (“Iovate USA”), GNC Corporation, Wal–Mart Stores, Inc., Walgreens Company, CVS Caremark Corp., and Vitamin Shoppe Industries, Inc. The CCA asserts claims for violation of various state consumer protection and unfair competition laws, breach of express and implied warranties, and unjust enrichment based on Defendants' manufacture, marketing, and sale of fourteen Hydroxycut-branded products.

Also pending before the Court are numerous individual personal injury actions that have been transferred as tag-along actions to the In re Hydroxycut Marketing and Sales Practices multi-district litigation. Many of the individual personal injury complaints name Kerr as a defendant in addition to other Iovate defendants, including Iovate Health Sciences Research Inc. (“Iovate Research”) and Iovate Health Sciences International Inc. (“Iovate International”).

Kerr moves to dismiss the CCA Complaint against it for lack of personal jurisdiction. Kerr has also filed motions to dismiss for lack of jurisdiction in a number of the individual actions (the motions rely upon the papers and argument presented in connection with the Consolidated Motion to Dismiss). ¹

II. LAW GOVERNING PERSONAL JURISDICTION

In an MDL case, the MDL court applies the law of the transferor forum to determine personal jurisdiction. In re WellNx Marketing and Sales Practices Lit., 2010 WL 3652457, at *1 (D.Mass. Sept. 15, 2010). This Court can exercise personal jurisdiction over Kerr only to the extent that the transferor court could have. In re Dynamic Random Access Memory, 2005 WL 2988715, at *2 (N.D.Cal. Nov. 7, 2005).

Personal jurisdiction must comport with the applicable state's long-arm statute as well as with the constitutional requirement of due process. Omeluk v. Langsten Slip and Batbyggeri A/S, 52 F.3d 267, 269 (9th Cir.1995). Under due process principles, a court may exercise jurisdiction over a nonresident defendant where the defendant's minimum contacts with the forum state render the maintenance of the action inoffensive to traditional concepts of fair play.

In this case, Plaintiffs do not allege that Kerr itself has minimum contacts with the forum states. Rather, Plaintiffs seek to impute the contacts of Kerr's subsidiaries to Kerr under the theories of alter ego and agency. “[A] subsidiary's contacts may be imputed to the parent where the subsidiary is the parent's alter ego, or where the subsidiary acts as the general agent of the parent.” Harris Rutsky & Co. Ins. Serv., Inc. v. Bell & Clements Ltd., 328 F.3d 1122, 1134 (9th Cir.2003). In diversity cases, when determining whether contacts of a subsidiary may be imputed to the parent for purposes of personal jurisdiction, courts look to the choice-of-law rules of the forum state to decide which state's substantive law on alter...