Waite v. All Acquisition Corp.

• Decision Date: 23 August 2018
• Docket Number: No. 16-15569,16-15569
• Citation: 901 F.3d 1307
• Parties: James John WAITE, Jr., Plaintiff, Sandra Waite, in her capacity as the personal representative of the estate of John Waite, Jr., Plaintiff - Appellant, v. ALL ACQUISITION CORP., f.k.a. Holland Furnace, a.k.a. Allegheny Technologies, Ford Motor Company, Union Carbide Corporation, Defendants - Appellees, Borg-Warner Corporation, et al., Defendants.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Eleventh Circuit

901 F.3d 1307

James John WAITE, Jr., Plaintiff,

Sandra Waite, in her capacity as the personal representative of the estate of John Waite, Jr., Plaintiff - Appellant,

v.ALL ACQUISITION CORP., f.k.a. Holland Furnace, a.k.a. Allegheny Technologies, Ford Motor Company, Union Carbide Corporation, Defendants - Appellees,Borg-Warner Corporation, et al., Defendants.

No. 16-15569

United States Court of Appeals, Eleventh Circuit.

August 23, 2018

Jonathan Ruckdeschel, The Ruckdeschel Law Firm, Ellicott City, for Plaintiff–Appellant.

Ryan Cobbs, Matthew J. Conigliaro, Carlton Fields Jorden Burt, PA, Tampa, FL, for Union Carbide Corporation.

Before JILL PRYOR and JULIE CARNES, Circuit Judges, and ANTOON,^* District Judge.

JILL PRYOR, Circuit Judge:

While living in Massachusetts, James Waite was exposed repeatedly to asbestos, some of which was mined and sold by Union Carbide Corporation. More than twenty-five years after his initial asbestos exposure, Mr. Waite moved to Florida, where he was diagnosed with mesothelioma

. Mr. Waite and his wife, Sandra Waite, filed a lawsuit in Florida state court against a group of defendants that included Union Carbide. The Waites alleged that the defendants negligently failed to warn users of the health hazards of asbestos and defectively designed their products. After Union Carbide removed the case to federal district court, the district court determined that it lacked personal jurisdiction over Union Carbide.

On appeal, the Waites argue that the district court erred in dismissing Union Carbide for lack of personal jurisdiction because the court properly could exercise both specific jurisdiction and general jurisdiction over Union Carbide. We disagree. Union Carbide is not subject to specific jurisdiction because the Waites cannot show that their claims arise out of Union Carbide's contacts with Florida. Nor is Union Carbide subject to general jurisdiction because there is no evidence that Union Carbide is at home in Florida. After careful consideration, and with the benefit of oral argument, we affirm the district court's order dismissing Union Carbide for lack of personal jurisdiction.

I. BACKGROUND

The basic facts of this case are undisputed.

For much of his life, Mr. Waite lived in Massachusetts, where he worked at several jobs that exposed him to asbestos. When renovating apartment units in the late 1960s, he was exposed to a joint compound that contained asbestos mined and sold by Union Carbide. Union Carbide never warned Mr. Waite about the hazards of exposure to asbestos. In 1978, Mr. Waite moved to Florida. There, he continued to be exposed to asbestos while working with automotive parts. The Waites do not contend, however, that the asbestos to which he was exposed in Florida was mined or sold by Union Carbide.

In 2015, Mr. Waite was diagnosed with malignant mesothelioma

, a rare, fatal cancer, the only known environmental cause of which is exposure to asbestos. Exposure to asbestos can cause genetic errors in cells lining the lungs, known as mesothelial cells. When these mutations accumulate, uncontrolled cell growth can lead to a deadly tumor. Repeated exposure to asbestos increases the risk of contracting mesothelioma ; it is impossible to exclude any particular exposure from the causal chain leading to development of the disease. The disease's cumulative nature also results in long latency periods between a patient's first exposure to asbestos and the disease's presentation, sometimes spanning several decades. Mr. Waite's medical treatment, including his surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy, all has taken place in Florida.

Following Mr. Waite's diagnosis with mesothelioma

, the Waites filed suit in Florida state court against Union Carbide and nine other defendants.¹ Alleging that each defendant had mined, processed, supplied, manufactured, or distributed products containing asbestos that caused Mr. Waite's disease, the Waites asserted claims for negligent failure to warn and strict liability for defective design. Union Carbide removed the case to the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida.

In district court, Union Carbide filed a motion to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction on the ground that Union Carbide was incorporated in New York and maintained its principal place of business in Texas. In response, the Waites relied on evidence that revealed the following about Union Carbide's business activities in Florida: Union Carbide registered for the right to conduct business in Florida in 1949 and maintains a registered agent to receive service of process in the state. It began selling asbestos in 1963 to product manufacturers. During the 1960s, it made plans to build and operate a shipping terminal in Tampa. By 1973, Union Carbide sold about 50% of the asbestos used in joint compounds nationwide and had hired a distributor in Florida to sell its asbestos. Union Carbide had asbestos customers based in Florida, and it operated a plant in Brevard County, Florida. When the public increasingly became concerned about the health consequences of exposure to asbestos, Union Carbide discussed undertaking a public relations campaign that would include a seminar in Florida. The Waites also offered evidence that Union Carbide has been sued by other plaintiffs in Florida, including in asbestos-related cases, and has itself brought lawsuits in Florida.

After considering this evidence, the district court initially denied Union Carbide's motion to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction, determining that Florida courts could assert general jurisdiction over the company. Upon Union Carbide's motion for reconsideration, the district court concluded that it lacked general jurisdiction over Union Carbide, but that the company was subject to specific jurisdiction. Following a second motion for reconsideration, the district court concluded that it lacked both general and specific jurisdiction over Union Carbide. The Waites appealed.

II. STANDARD OF REVIEW

We review de novo the decision of a district court to dismiss a complaint for lack of personal jurisdiction. Carmouche v. Tamborlee Mgmt., Inc. , 789 F.3d 1201, 1203 (11th Cir. 2015).

III. DISCUSSION

A federal court sitting in diversity undertakes a two-step inquiry to determine whether personal jurisdiction exists. Carmouche , 789 F.3d at 1203. First, the exercise of jurisdiction must be appropriate under the forum state's long-arm statute, which delimits the exercise of personal jurisdiction under state law. Id. Second, the exercise of jurisdiction must comport with the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. Id.

Florida's long-arm statute provides two ways in which a defendant may be subject to the jurisdiction of the state's courts. Id. at 1203-04. First, a defendant is subject to "specific personal jurisdiction—that is, jurisdiction over suits that arise out of or relate to a defendant's contacts with Florida"—for conduct specifically enumerated in the statute. Id. at 1204 (citing Fla. Stat. § 48.193(1)(a) ). Second, a defendant is subject to "general personal jurisdiction—that is, jurisdiction over any claims against a defendant, whether or not they involve the defendant's activities in Florida—if the defendant engages in ‘substantial and not isolated activity’ in Florida." Id. (quoting Fla. Stat. § 48.193(2) ).

Whether specific or general, the exercise of personal jurisdiction over a defendant must comport with due process. The touchstone of this analysis is whether the defendant has "certain minimum contacts with [the state] such that the maintenance of the suit does not offend traditional notions of fair play and substantial justice." Int’l Shoe Co. v. Washington , 326 U.S. 310, 316, 66 S.Ct. 154, 90 L.Ed. 95 (1945) (internal quotation marks omitted). The minimum contacts inquiry focuses on "the relationship among the defendant, the forum, and the litigation." Walden v. Fiore , 571 U.S. 277, 284, 134 S.Ct. 1115, 188 L.Ed.2d 12 (2014) (internal quotation marks omitted). This inquiry ensures that a defendant is haled into court in a forum state based on the defendant's own affiliation with the state, rather than the "random, fortuitous, or attenuated" contacts it makes by interacting with other persons affiliated with the state. Id. (quoting Burger King Corp. v. Rudzewicz , 471 U.S. 462, 475, 105 S.Ct. 2174, 85 L.Ed.2d 528 (1985) ).

Even where neither the forum state's long-arm statute nor the due process minimum contacts analysis is satisfied, a court may exercise personal jurisdiction over a party if the party consents. "[A] litigant may give express or implied consent to the personal jurisdiction of the court." Burger King Corp. , 471 U.S. at 472 n.14, 105 S.Ct. 2174 (internal quotation marks omitted). Parties may, for example, contract or stipulate "to submit their controversies for resolution within a particular jurisdiction." Id. ; see, e.g. , Nat’l Equip. Rental, Ltd. v. Szukhent , 375 U.S. 311, 316, 84 S.Ct. 411, 11 L.Ed.2d 354 (1964) (consent by contract); Petrowski v. Hawkeye-Sec. Ins. Co. , 350 U.S. 495, 495-96, 76 S.Ct. 490, 100 L.Ed. 639 (1956) (per curiam) (consent by stipulation). Where these agreements are "freely negotiated" and not "unreasonable [or] unjust," their enforcement does not offend due process. Burger King Corp. , 471 U.S. at 472 n.14, 105 S.Ct. 2174 (internal quotation marks omitted).

The Waites argue that there are three ways in which the district court could properly exercise personal jurisdiction over Union Carbide in this case. First, they argue that the exercise of specific jurisdiction is appropriate based on Union Carbide's activities in Florida that gave rise to the causes of action they allege. Second, they argue that the district court could exercise general jurisdiction over Union Carbide based on the company's substantial contacts with Florida. Third, they argue that Union Carbide consented to general personal jurisdiction in Florida by complying with various Florida statute...