Bolkiah v. Superior Court
| Decision Date | 08 September 1999 |
| Docket Number | No. B130842,B130842 |
| Citation | 88 Cal.Rptr.2d 540,74 Cal.App.4th 984 |
| Parties | , 99 Cal. Daily Op. Serv. 7465, 1999 Daily Journal D.A.R. 9401 Haji Jefri BOLKIAH et al., Petitioners, v. The SUPERIOR COURT of Los Angeles County, Respondent; Bijan Fragrances, Inc., et al., Real Parties in Interest. |
| Court | California Court of Appeals Court of Appeals |
Cogswell, Woolley, Nakazawa & Russell, Forrest R. Cogswell, David E.R. Woolley, Long Beach, Mitchell F. Ducey and Thomas H. Van Horn, St. Paul, MN, for Petitioners Haji Jefri Bolkiah, Haji Hakeem Bolkiah and Haji Mohammad Junaidi Abdul Rahman.
No appearance for Respondent.
Arnold & Porter, John J. Quinn, Los Angeles, Laurence J. Hutt and Sean Morris for Real Parties in Interest Bijan Fragrances, Inc. and Bijan Pakzad.
The superior court denied petitioners' motions to quash service of the summons and complaint for allegedly defective service of process. Petitioners contend they qualify as "foreign states" thus, to be effective, service had to be made according to the requirements of the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (28 U.S.C. § 1602 et seq.). In the alternative, petitioners contend real parties' attempts at service of process under California law were deficient and therefore ineffective for the superior court to acquire personal jurisdiction over them. Accordingly, petitioners request a writ of mandate to compel respondent superior court to grant their motions to quash.
We find the record evidence does not establish petitioners were either "political subdivisions of a sovereign state" or "instrumentalities of a foreign state." Accordingly, we conclude the instant case does not implicate the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act for service of process or otherwise. We further conclude the trial court did not abuse its discretion in determining service of process under California law was adequate to acquire personal jurisdiction over petitioners. We therefore deny petitioners' request for a writ of mandate.
The following factual summary is derived from the allegations of real parties' in interest complaint.
Petitioner Haji Jefri Bolkiah is the brother of the Sultan of Brunei Darussalam and a prince of the monarchy (Prince Jefri). Petitioner Haji Hakeem Bolkiah (Prince Hakeem) is Prince Jefri's oldest son and the Sultan of Brunei Darussalam's nephew. Petitioner Haji Mohammad Junaidi Abdul Rahman (Haji Junaidi) is Prince Hakeem's primary assistant.
In May 1997, Prince Jefri, through an agent, contacted real parties in interest Bijan Pakzad at his business Bijan Fragrances, Inc. (Bijan) in Beverly Hills to arrange a meeting. Bijan met with Prince Jefri and the Prince's representative Micha Raines in Paris, France. At the meeting Prince Jefri advised Bijan he was developing a luxury hotel at a high end resort in Brunei Darussalam known as the Jerudong Park. Prince Jefri expressed interest in having Bijan design and manufacture exclusive fragrances and amenities to place in the rooms and suites of the hotel. Bijan and Prince Jefri discussed the nature of the Jerudong Park Hotel SDN, BHD and the kinds of elite fragrances and amenities which would be appropriate for the anticipated wealthy clientele. Prince Jefri arranged for Bijan to meet with his son Prince Hakeem, the designated chairman of the hotel, in London, England.
Bijan met with Prince Hakeem and his assistant Haji Junaidi in London, England on May 31, 1997. At this meeting Prince Hakeem agreed the first step would be for Bijan to design prototypes of the fragrances, logos and containers for his and his father's approval. Prince Hakeem told Bijan to submit a cost proposal for the prototypes which Bijan did the same day. Shortly thereafter Princes Jefri and Hakeem approved the cost proposal for the prototypes and wire transferred $2.5 million to Bijan in early June to cover the cost of development of the prototypes.
In June 1997 Bijan wrote to Prince Jefri's assistant Ms. Raines to request specific information about the hotel in order to assist in the design of the prototypes. Ms. Raines wrote back to inform Bijan she was currently traveling with Prince Jefri and would supply the information as soon as they returned to Brunei Darussalam. Ms. Raines also informed Bijan that Prince Jefri and Prince Hakeem had requested Bijan to design unique scents for their personal use as well.
Also in June 1997 Haji Junaidi advised Bijan that Princes Jefri and Hakeem wished to keep their dealings confidential. Later in June Bijan received a fully executed confidentiality agreement prepared by Prince Jefri's and/or Prince Hakeem's solicitors, which Bijan returned to Haji Junaidi as directed. In response Haji Junaidi wrote Bijan to "confirm that I have received your courriered mails and I really appreciate your cooperation in signing the agreements...."
Periodically Prince Jefri and Prince Hakeem ordered specially designed articles of Bijan clothing. Thus in one letter Ms. Raines informed Bijan: "I have coordinated with one of our personal offices in Beverly Hills to assist with the shipping of any and all merchandise or samples you may need to forward in the future. Our representatives will arrange for delivery.... Their address and contact is:
After a series of written correspondence between Bijan and Haji Junaidi or Ms. Raines, Bijan and his representatives made a presentation of the prototype fragrances to Prince Jefri, Prince Hakeem, Ms. Raines, Haji Junaidi and Jefri's two other children at the Dorchester Hotel in London, England on October 19, 1997.
The following day Bijan and his representatives made a similar presentation to four directors of the Jerudong Park Hotel SDN BHD.
On October 24, 1997, Haji Junaidi wrote Bijan and enclosed a summary of the type and quantity of the products Princes Jefri and Hakeem wanted to order for the hotel--1,675,000 items at a projected cost of $48,314,500. Bijan prepared a formal purchase order detailing the items they had selected, the quantity per item, the unit price and the aggregate price, on both a per unit basis and for all the 1,675,000 items ordered. Bijan informed Haji Junaidi manufacturing could begin as soon as the purchase order was dated, executed, and returned to Bijan with an advance deposit of $24,157,250.
In response, on November 17, 1997, Haji Junaidi dated and countersigned Bijan's cover letter on behalf of Princes Jefri and Hakeem agreeing to pay at least $48,314,500; he wire transferred a 50 percent deposit of $24,157,250 to Bijan in Beverly Hills; and, dated and signed the purchase order.
On the same day Haji Junaidi advised Bijan that Princes Jefri and Hakeem had wire transferred an additional $12,500,000 to Bijan: $2,500,000 was to compensate Bijan for design costs of the high end prototypes designed for the hotel and $10,000,000 was designated for specially designed fragrances for Prince Jefri's and his three children's personal use.
Over the next several months Bijan wrote regularly to Ms. Raines, Haji Junaidi and Princes Jefri and Hakeem to apprise them of his company's progress in manufacturing the hotel fragrances and in developing the personal fragrances. After much negotiation the parties met in London, England in April 1998. At this meeting Bijan presented the prototype personal fragrances.
Approximately two weeks later Bijan received a letter from solicitor Julian James of London, England. In his letter Mr. James stated he had been hired to review Bijan's proposal for personal fragrances for Prince Jefri and his children prior to any formal commitment. Mr. James suggested he meet with Bijan in Los Angeles to discuss possible alternatives to the product. Ultimately Bijan met with Mr. James's designees in Los Angeles, who were attorneys hired by petitioners. At the meeting the attorneys told Bijan that Prince Jefri would not be placing an order for personal fragrances and was canceling the order for the hotel project. These actions were confirmed in a letter sent to Bijan from representatives of the Jerudong Park Hotel SDN BHD.
After informal negotiations failed Bijan filed suit on July 2, 1998, requesting damages and attorney's fees, including damages for breach of contract in the amount of $21,526,795. The complaint, by amendment, names as defendants three corporations: Jerudong Park Hotel SDN, BHD, Amedeo Corporation SDN, BHD and Amedeo Development Corporation SDN, BHD. The latter two corporations are allegedly wholly owned by Prince Jefri. The complaint also names as defendants Prince Jefri Bolkiah, Prince Hakeem Bolkiah and Haji Junaidi, petitioners in this writ proceeding.
On July 30, 1998, Bijan mailed copies of the summons and complaint in English via certified mail (return receipt requested) to each of the petitioners to all addresses in Brunei Darussalam, England and Beverly Hills the petitioners supplied to Bijan in their course of dealing. Bijan also mailed copies of the summons and complaint to Mr. Julian James in England and to Ms. Raines in Beverly Hills in care of Silvercrest, Inc.
Petitioners did not return signed receipts to Bijan.
In August 1998 Bijan learned Prince Jefri might be staying at apartments at the family-owned Plaza Hotel in New York City. Over the course of several days process servers attempted to personally serve Prince Jefri with the summons and complaint but were thwarted in their attempts by hotel personnel and personal guards. On August 21, 1998, the process server "served" a copy of the summons and complaint on the security supervisor for the hotel and subsequently mailed copies of both to Prince Jefri at the hotel.
On August 26, 1998, Bijan again sent copies of the summons and complaint to petitioners at locations in Brunei Darussalam, England and...
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