Doering v. Copper Mountain Inc.
| Decision Date | 31 July 2001 |
| Docket Number | No. 99-1550,99-1550 |
| Citation | 259 F.3d 1202 |
| Parties | (10th Cir. 2001) RICHARD ALBERT DOERING; KIMBERLY DOERING, AND STEPHANIE DOERING, infants by their guardian ad litem, THOMAS J. BARRETT; RICHARD DOERING, individually, through Thomas J. Barrett, personal representative, and KATHLEEN DOERING, individually, Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. COPPER MOUNTAIN, INC., a Delaware corporation, Defendant-Appellee, and SMEDLEY INDUSTRIES, INC., a Delaware corporation, formerly known as Buddy L. Industries, Inc., formerly known as SLM, Inc., Defendant |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Tenth Circuit |
Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of Colorado (D.C. No. 96-D-1951) [Copyrighted Material Omitted]
[Copyrighted Material Omitted]
[Copyrighted Material Omitted]
[Copyrighted Material Omitted] Joseph P. La Sala, Of Counsel, (Thomas P. Scrivo, Of Counsel; Louis A. Modugno, Of Counsel, with him on the briefs), McElroy, Deutsch & Mulvaney, Denver, Colorado, for Plaintiffs-Appellants.
Peter W. Rietz, Jere K. Smith, (John Lebsack, White and Steele, P.C., Denver, Colorado, with them on the brief), Rietz and Smith, L.L.C., Dillon, Colorado, for Defendant-Appellee.
Before BRISCOE, BALDOCK, and MURPHY, Circuit Judges.
Richie and Kimberly Doering were severely injured in a sledding collision with snow-grooming equipment at Copper Mountain Resort. Through their guardian ad litem, Richie and Kimberly filed suit against Copper Mountain, Inc. ("Copper Mountain") for negligence. Kathleen Doering, Richie and Kimberly's mother, brought a claim against Copper Mountain for emotional distress. Through her guardian ad litem, Stephanie Doering, Richie and Kimberly's sister, also filed a claim against Copper Mountain for emotional distress. Richard Doering, Richie and Kimberly's father, brought claims against Copper Mountain for emotional distress, loss of consortium, and loss of earnings. The district court dismissed the claim brought on behalf of Stephanie and the individual claims of Kathleen and Richard. On Richie's and Kimberly's negligence claims, a jury returned a verdict in favor of Copper Mountain after finding that their negligence claims were barred by the Ski Safety Act.
The Doerings1 appeal numerous rulings by the district court. Exercising jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. 1291, this court reverses the judgment for the reason that the district court instructed the jury not to consider Copper Mountain's alleged violations of the Ski Safety Act if it found that Richie's and Kimberly's injuries resulted from an inherent danger or risk of skiing. On the remaining issues which this court should decide for remand, we affirm the rulings of the district court.
On February 18, 1993, Richie and Kimberly, ages four and six respectively (hereinafter "the Doering children"),2 were sledding under the supervision of their mother Kathleen, at Copper Mountain Resort. Kathleen had borrowed sleds earlier in the day from the daycare facility at the resort. When Kathleen borrowed the sleds, she was told by the staff that she could use them in the Bellybutton Bump area after the daycare children were no longer occupying the area. Kathleen indicated that she was going to pull her children on the sleds around the village. She later took them to a ski trail called "Bouncer." At approximately 4:35 p.m., thirty-five minutes after the ski lifts closed, the Doering children were sledding down the lower portion of Bouncer. Traveling twenty-five to thirty miles-per-hour, the children collided with the blade of a snow-grooming machine, which was traversing the base of the mountain on the haul road. The children suffered severe injuries.
Richie, Kimberly, their older sister Stephanie, through their guardian ad litem, and their father Richard (now deceased) filed a complaint against Copper Mountain in the New Jersey Superior Court. The Doering children claimed that Copper Mountain negligently, recklessly, and carelessly operated, maintained, managed, and controlled the site of the accident. They also claimed that Copper Mountain's conduct was willful and wanton. Stephanie brought a claim against Copper Mountain for emotional distress, and Richard brought claims against Copper Mountain for emotional distress, loss of consortium, and loss of earnings. Kathleen instituted a separate action in the New Jersey Superior Court, alleging a single claim against Copper Mountain for emotional distress.
Both cases were removed to the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey and later consolidated. After the cases were consolidated, Copper Mountain filed a motion to dismiss or, alternatively, to transfer to federal district court in Colorado. The New Jersey district court transferred the consolidated cases to the United States District Court for the District of Colorado upon resolving that it lacked personal jurisdiction over Copper Mountain. The court alternatively ruled that even if it had jurisdiction, transfer to the Colorado district court would be appropriate for the convenience of the parties and witnesses and in the interest of justice. Since Kathleen was not a party to the action involving the Doering children, Copper Mountain designated Kathleen as a nonparty whose negligent supervision of her children should be considered by the jury pursuant to Colorado Revised Statute 13-21-111.5. In an amended complaint, the Doering children brought new claims against Copper Mountain, alleging that Copper Mountain violated the Colorado Ski Safety Act.
Copper Mountain filed a motion to dismiss the claims of Richard, Kathleen, and Stephanie for emotional distress and Richard's loss of consortium and loss of earnings claims. Richard's lost earnings claim was dismissed by stipulation. The district court granted Copper Mountain's motion to dismiss the other claims. Thus, the only claims remaining for trial were the claims of the children involved in the accident, Richie and Kimberly. At the conclusion of the case, the district court granted Copper Mountain's motion for judgment as a matter of law on the Doering children's claim for punitive damages. The jury returned a verdict in favor of Copper Mountain after finding that the Doering children's negligence claims were barred by the Ski Safety Act because their injuries resulted from an inherent danger or risk of skiing.
On appeal, the appellants claim the district court erroneously (1) dismissed the emotional distress claims of Richard, Kathleen, and Stephanie and the loss of consortium claim of Richard; (2) applied the Ski Safety Act to the Doering children;(3) instructed the jury not to consider Copper Mountain's alleged negligence under the Ski Safety Act if it found that the Doering children's injuries resulted from an inherent danger or risk of skiing; (4) denied the Doering children's motion for judgment as a matter of law; (5) dismissed the Doering children's claim for punitive damages; and (6) admitted the deposition testimony of an expert witness.
The federal district court in New Jersey transferred this case to Colorado pursuant to 28 U.S.C. 1406(a) for improper venue.3 In its transfer order, the district court ruled that it lacked personal jurisdiction over Copper Mountain. After the transfer, the federal district court in Colorado ruled that Colorado choice of law rules and Colorado substantive law applied to the case. Applying Colorado law, the district court then dismissed the emotional distress claims of Richard, Kathleen, and Stephanie and Richard's loss of consortium claim.
The Doerings claim New Jersey choice of law rules and New Jersey substantive law apply to their claims and, therefore, the emotional distress and loss of consortium claims were erroneously dismissed. This court reviews jurisdictional and choice of law determinations de novo. See Intercon, Inc. v. Bell Atl. Internet Solutions, Inc., 205 F.3d 1244, 1247 (10th Cir. 2000); Gschwind v. Cessna Aircraft Co., 161 F.3d 602, 608 (10th Cir. 1998). We review the underlying factual determinations, however, for clear error. See Trierweiler v. Croxton & Trench Holding Corp., 90 F.3d 1523, 1535 (10th Cir. 1996).
Generally, when a district court transfers a case to another forum, the transferee court must follow the choice of law rules of the transferor court. See id. at 1532. When the transferor court lacks personal jurisdiction, however, the choice of law rules of the transferee court apply. See id. To determine which choice of law rules apply to the Doerings' claims, this court must first determine whether the district court in New Jersey had personal jurisdiction over Copper Mountain.
A court obtains jurisdiction over a nonresident defendant in a diversity action if a plaintiff can establish that (1) jurisdiction is proper under the laws of the forum state and (2) the exercise of jurisdiction does not offend due process. See Far West Capital, Inc. v. Towne, 46 F.3d 1071, 1074 (10th Cir. 1995). New Jersey's long-arm statute permits the exercise of jurisdiction if it is consistent with due process. See N.J.R. 4:4-4(b)(1); Avdel Corp. v. Mecure, 277 A.2d 207, 209 (N.J. 1971). Accordingly, the personal jurisdiction inquiry under New Jersey law collapses into the traditional due process inquiry. See Charles Gendler & Co. v. Telecom Equip. Corp., 508 A.2d 1127, 1131-32 (N.J. 1986).
Consistent with due process, a court may exercise personal jurisdiction over a nonresident defendant if minimum contacts exist between the defendant and the forum state such that maintenance of the lawsuit would not offend "traditional notions of fair play and substantial justice." World-Wide Volkswagen Corp. v. Woodson, 444 U.S. 286, 291-92 (1980) (quotation omitted). The minimum contacts standard may be met in one of two ways: (1) a court may exercise general jurisdiction if the defendant's contacts with the forum state are continuous and...
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