Sieber v. Campbell
| Decision Date | 13 July 2001 |
| Citation | 810 So.2d 641 |
| Parties | Helmut J. SIEBER et al. v. Jack L. CAMPBELL. |
| Court | Alabama Supreme Court |
Stuart E. Smith of Bell, Richardson, Smith & Callahan, P.A., Huntsville, for appellants.
John R. Campbell of Higgs & Emerson, Huntsville, for appellee.
Helmut J. Sieber, a Canadian resident, and Canadian Agra International Corporation ("Canadian Agra"), a Canadian corporation, appeal from a judgment entered in favor of Jack L. Campbell as to claims arising out of the negotiation and performance of an employment contract. Sieber and Canadian Agra argue on appeal that the Madison Circuit Court erred by holding that they were subject to that court's personal jurisdiction under Rule 4.2, Ala. R. Civ. P., also known as this State's "longarm statute." We disagree, and we affirm the trial court's judgment.
Campbell was once employed by a company referred to in the record before us as the "Stressle-Straube Group" (hereinafter referred to as "Stressle-Straube"), a computer-software company principally owned by Christian H.W. Straube and based in Stuttgart, Germany. While at Stressle-Straube, Campbell became familiar with a software package described as a "geographic information system," or "GIS." Although Campbell left Stressle-Straube in 1993 to open a consulting business, his knowledge of Stressle-Straube's GIS package led to a continuing relationship with that company.
Stressle-Straube transferred ownership of its GIS package to Telemap Satellite Communications Corporation ("Telemap"), a company in which Stressle-Straube held an equitable interest as a beneficiary in a trust as to which Sieber served as the trustee. Sieber also served as a corporate officer for Telemap. Telemap was charged with developing a market for the GIS package in North America, but it needed someone to lead the effort. Mr. Stressle decided that Campbell was a good candidate for the job because of his knowledge of the North American GIS market, so in February 1994 he helped to arrange a meeting between Sieber and Campbell in Liechtenstein to discuss the matter.
In March 1994, Campbell traveled to Toronto, Canada, to further discuss with Sieber his possible employment with Telemap. Human-resource consultants from a prominent public accounting firm evaluated Campbell's background and capabilities. After the evaluation, Campbell joined Sieber for dinner to discuss terms of employment. The discussions continued the next day, concluding in a meeting at the headquarters of H.J. Sieber Group and Canadian Agra, both of which were entities that Sieber at least partially owned. Campbell and Sieber agreed to a contract providing Campbell with employment for at least one year at a salary of $120,000 per year. The contract described Campbell's position as "Vice-President Marketing." Campbell alleges that he signed the written contract only after Sieber orally provided a personal guarantee of Campbell's salary.
During the contract negotiations, Sieber and Campbell discussed the location of Campbell's base of operations. They initially agreed that Campbell would locate in Canada. After the execution of the contract, however, Campbell suggested that Huntsville, Alabama, was a better location because of the area's research facilities. Sieber agreed and arranged the payment of Campbell's moving expenses.
According to the evidence, Campbell was hired to obtain licensing under the North American Free Trade Agreement for the marketing and distribution of Telemap's GIS software package. His performance under the contract entailed the development of a marketing plan under Sieber's supervision as a Telemap officer. The record also suggests, however, that Campbell was expected to serve, directly or indirectly, Canadian Agra, which had an unspecified interest in the development of a market for the GIS, and, on at least one occasion, he served in that capacity. We find no evidence in the record as to the details of this arrangement with Canadian Agra.
According to Sieber's deposition testimony, Sieber and Stressle-Straub became displeased with Campbell's performance. With Stressle-Straube's approval, Sieber authorized what was the last payment to Campbell, in December 1996. At that time, Campbell's employment had not yet been terminated. On May 19, 1997, Campbell and Sieber discussed a new contract for 1998. That contract increased Campbell's compensation and provided for payments not made under the previous contract, which, at that time, totalled $130,397.00. Campbell subsequently continued his employment with Sieber through June 1997. At that time, he still had not received any payment on the accruing delinquency. Consequently, he notified Sieber that his employment contract had been breached and that he would no longer perform under the 1998 contract. At that time, the record suggests, Telemap owed Campbell $243,259.24, which reflected the sum of the balance previously owed and the 1998 total salary combined with expenses incurred during the term of the new 1998 contract, plus interest.
Campbell filed this lawsuit on September 26, 1997, naming as defendants Telemap, Sieber, Canadian Agra, and two of Sieber's business holdings, including Raika Financial Corporation ("Raika"). Campbell's complaint alleged breach of contract; fraudulent assertion of a corporate existence; misrepresentation; suppression; and promissory estoppel. All the defendants, except for Telemap, timely moved to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction. The trial court denied the motion and ordered that the case proceed. During the discovery phase, Campbell obtained an order compelling Sieber to appear for deposition. Sieber initially refused to be deposed, despite this order, and the trial court entered a judgment against Telemap as a sanction. Sieber later complied with the order. As the case proceeded to pretrial conference, all of the defendants except for Sieber and Canadian Agra were dismissed pursuant to an agreement by the parties. The trial court conducted a bench trial on April 17, 2000, in which it heard oral testimony from Campbell. Sieber elected not to testify at trial and instead relied on his deposition testimony and supporting exhibits as evidence. The trial court entered a judgment against Sieber and Canadian Agra totalling $243,259.24, which was the same judgment entered against Telemap. Sieber and Canadian Agra appealed.
The question raised in this appeal is whether the trial court properly exercised personal jurisdiction over Sieber and Canadian Agra, both of whom are nonresident defendants. The requirements for personal jurisdiction in this state are set out in Rule 4.2(a)(2), Ala. R. Civ. P., which provides, in pertinent part:
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