Dotterweich v. Yamaha Intern. Corp.

• Decision Date: 29 June 1976
• Docket Number: No. 4-73 Civ. 572.,4-73 Civ. 572.
• Citation: 416 F. Supp. 542
• Parties: John Paul DOTTERWEICH, Plaintiff, v. YAMAHA INTERNATIONAL CORPORATION, a California Corporation, and a subsidiary of Yamaha Motor Company, Ltd., a Foreign Corporation, et al., Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — District of Minnesota

416 F. Supp. 542

John Paul DOTTERWEICH, Plaintiff, v. YAMAHA INTERNATIONAL CORPORATION, a California Corporation, and a subsidiary of Yamaha Motor Company, Ltd., a Foreign Corporation, et al., Defendants.

No. 4-73 Civ. 572.

United States District Court, D. Minnesota, Fourth Division.

June 29, 1976.

Jeffrey L. Flynn, Grose, Von Holtum, Von Holtum, Sieben & Schmidt, Ltd., Minneapolis, Minn., for plaintiff.

Roger R. Roe, Jr., Rider, Bennett, Egan, Johnson & Arundel, Minneapolis, Minn., for Yamaha International Corp. and Yamaha Motors Co., Ltd.

Donald Chance Mark, Jr., Meagher, Geer, Markham, Anderson, Adamson, Flaskamp & Brennan, Minneapolis, Minn., for Yokohama Rubber Co., Ltd.

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

ALSOP, District Judge.

Plaintiff was injured when the track of his snowmobile became disconnected from the snowmobile and struck him in the leg. Plaintiff initiated an action against the corporations that manufactured the track and the snowmobile, both from Japan, and the California corporation that distributes the snowmobiles in the United States. The issue before the court is whether this court may exercise in personam jurisdiction over the Japanese corporations pursuant to the Minnesota "single act" long-arm statute, Minn.Stat. § 303.13 Subd. 1(3).

The record presently before the court indicates that plaintiff purchased a used 1971 Yamaha SL 292 snowmobile from Sembauer Sport Sales in Montgomery, Minnesota, on January 1, 1972. On or about March 25, 1972,¹ the date of the injury, plaintiff was attempting to clean the snowmobile track to prepare the snowmobile for summer storage. Plaintiff stood behind the machine and lifted the rear portion of the machine off the ground while directing his wife to operate the throttle in such a manner that the snowmobile track would turn slowly. While the track was rotating it became disconnected from the machine and struck plaintiff in the leg causing the injuries complained of in the complaint.

Defendant Yamaha Motor Company, Ltd. (Yamaha Motor) is a publicly held Japanese corporation with its principal place of business in Japan. Yamaha Motor manufactures motorcycles, snowmobiles, spare parts, and accessories; none of which is manufactured in the United States. Yamaha Motor is not registered to do business in Minnesota and has never maintained an office or place of business in Minnesota or anywhere in the United States. No agents or employees of Yamaha Motor have ever transacted business in Minnesota, nor has it maintained a telephone number or bank account in the State of Minnesota.

Snowmobiles and other products manufactured by Yamaha Motors for export to the United States are sold f. o. b. Japan port to defendant Yamaha International Corporation (Yamaha International) and Yamaha Parts Distributors Incorporated of Buena Park, California. Yamaha International is a distinct corporate entity and is not a subsidiary of Yamaha Motor; nor does Yamaha Motor own or control any stock of Yamaha International. Two of the directors of Yamaha Motor also act as two of the five directors of Yamaha International. Yamaha Motor and Yamaha International hold separate board of directors meetings in their respective locales. Yamaha Motor does not supervise or control the business affairs of Yamaha International nor does it become involved in selecting or contracting with retail dealers in the United States; Yamaha International enters into franchise agreements with dealers.

Yokohama Rubber Company, Ltd. (Yokohama), a corporation organized under the laws of Japan, manufactures a wide range of rubber based products including tires and tracks for snowmobiles. Yokohama does not have any office or representative agent in the State of Minnesota. A Yokohama subsidiary, Yokohama Tire Corporation (a California corporation), does purchase tires from Yokohama and import them for distribution in the United States. Snowmobile tracks manufactured by Yokohama are sold directly to the snowmobile manufacturer and installation of the track is performed by the snowmobile manufacturer.

For purposes of these motions, the court assumes the application of the above facts to be as follows: Yokohama manufactured a snowmobile track at its plant in Japan that was sold to Yamaha Motor. Yamaha Motor installed that track on one of its snowmobiles as a part of the manufacturing process at its Japan plant. Yamaha Motor sold the snowmobile f. o. b. Japan port to Yamaha International and Yamaha International imported the snowmobile to the United States. The snowmobile eventually made its way to Sembauer Sport Sales in Montgomery, Minnesota, where it was initially sold to a Minnesota resident, returned to Sembauer (presumably through a trade-in), and sold by Sembauer to the plaintiff in this action.

Presently before the court is the motion of Yamaha Motor for an order dismissing the complaint for lack of personal jurisdiction and lack of subject matter jurisdiction. Also before the court is the motion of Yokohama for an order dismissing the complaint based on lack of subject matter jurisdiction, lack of personal jurisdiction, improper venue, insufficiency of process, and insufficiency of service of process. A motion by Yokohama Tire Company for summary judgment was granted by the court by order dated March 12, 1976.

It is axiomatic that the determination of whether this court can assert in personam jurisdiction over the defendants pursuant to the Minnesota "single act" long-arm statute. Minn.Stat. § 303.13 Subd. 1(3), turns on two considerations: (1) "what Minnesota has established as the limits of its jurisdiction over foreign corporations under its statute;" and (2) "if these limitations do not exclude the present suit, whether its inclusion complies with due process under the Fourteenth Amendment." Aftanase v. Economy Baler Co., 343 F.2d 187, 190 (8th Cir. 1965). The first of these considerations is a question of state law, the second of federal law. Williams v. Connolly, 227 F.Supp. 539, 540 (D.Minn. 1964).

The Minnesota long-arm statute at issue in the present case, Minn.Stat. § 303 Subd. 1(3), provides in relevant part as follows:

If a foreign corporation makes a contract with a resident of Minnesota to be performed in whole or in part by either party in Minnesota, or if such foreign corporation commits a tort in whole or in part in Minnesota against a resident of Minnesota, such acts shall be deemed to be doing business in Minnesota by the foreign corporation and shall be deemed equivalent to the appointment by the foreign corporation of the secretary of the state of Minnesota and his successors to be its true and lawful attorney upon whom may be served all lawful process in any actions or proceedings against the foreign corporation arising from or growing out of such contract or tort. . . .

The Supreme Court of Minnesota has repeatedly held that it will interpret the long-arm statutes of the state to extend jurisdiction to the outermost limits consistent with the requirements of due process. Franklin Mfg. Co. v. Union Pacific R. Co., 297 Minn. 181, 210 N.W.2d 227 (1973); Hunt v. Nevada State Bank, 285 Minn. 77, 172 N.W.2d 292 (1969), cert. denied sub nom., 397 U.S. 1010, 90 S.Ct. 1239, 25 L.Ed.2d 423 (1970). See McQuay, Inc. v. Samuel Schlosberg, Inc., 321 F.Supp. 902 (D.Minn.1971). This policy was recently affirmed in American Pollution Prevention Co. v. National Alfalfa Dehydrating and Milling Co., 230 N.W.2d 63, 65 (Minn.1975), where the court stated:

Decisions of this court have consistently found in § 303.13 a legislative intent to extend Minnesota's extraterritorial jurisdiction to the maximum limits permitted by due process. citations omitted

In the instant case, the defendants contend that the court should rule, based on state law, that the long-arm statute does not apply. In particular, the defendants argue that no tort was committed in the State of Minnesota and thus Minn.Stat. § 303.13 Subd. 1(3), on its face, does not apply. The basis of defendants' argument is that since defendants do not do business in the State and do not have any agents or employees within the State, defendants could not have committed "a tort in whole or in part in Minnesota." While defendants' position is interesting, it is clearly contra to the law in the State of Minnesota. The Minnesota Supreme Court has stated:

We have previously held that the negligent manufacture of a product in a foreign state becomes a tort committed "in whole or in part in Minnesota" when personal injury occurs in Minnesota as a result of use of the product here. Atkins v. Jones & Laughlin Steel Corp., 258 Minn. 571, 104 N.W.2d 888; Adamek v. Michigan Door Co., 260 Minn. 54, 108 N.W.2d 607. See also, Beck v. Spindler, 256 Minn. 543, 99 N.W.2d 670; The Dahlberg Co. v. Western Hearing Aid Center, 259 Minn. 330, 107 N.W.2d 381; Paulos v. Best Securities Inc., 260 Minn. 283, 109 N.W.2d 576. Cf. Fourth Northwestern Nat. Bank of Minneapolis v. Hilson Industries, Inc., 264 Minn. 110, 117 N.W.2d 732.

Ehlers v. U. S. Heating & Cooling Mfg. Corp., 267 Minn. 56, 124 N.W.2d 824, 826 (1963). The court is satisfied that the Minnesota Supreme Court would rule that Minn.Stat. § 303.13 Subd. 1(3) would apply under the present factual situation and thus this court, applying Minnesota law, will rule that the long-arm statute is applicable. The remaining issue is whether the exercise of jurisdiction pursuant to § 303.13 Subd. 1(3) complies with the demands of federal due process. While Minnesota Supreme Court cases,² to the extent they deal with the due process issue, are of weight, the issue is one to be determined in light of federal court precedents.

Defendant Yamaha Motor argues that the due process issue should be decided in accord with two prior decisions of the District Court for the District of Minnesota. Pendzimas v. Eastern Metal Products Corp., 218 F.Supp. 524 (D.Minn.1961) (Nordbye, J.); Mueller v. Steelcase, Inc., 172 F.Supp. 416 (D.Minn.1959) ...