Dura-Line Corp. v. Sloan, DURA-LINE

• Citation: 487 N.E.2d 469
• Decision Date: 15 January 1986
• Docket Number: No. 3-785A166,DURA-LINE,3-785A166
• Parties: CORP., Defendant-Appellant, v. Joie SLOAN, Plaintiff-Appellee.
• Court: Court of Appeals of Indiana

Page 469

487 N.E.2d 469

DURA-LINE CORP., Defendant-Appellant, v. Joie SLOAN, Plaintiff-Appellee.

No. 3-785A166.

Court of Appeals of Indiana,

Third District.

Jan. 15, 1986.

Brian L. Burchett, Cohen, Foss, Schuman & Drake, East Chicago, for defendant-appellant.

Kenneth A. Manning, James, James & Manning P.C., Dyer, for plaintiff-appellee.

GARRARD, Judge.

Sloan commenced this action in the Lake Circuit Court to recover certain commissions. Dura-Line filed a TR 12(B)(2) motion asserting the court lacked personal jurisdiction. The court denied the motion but certified an interlocutory appeal.

Jurisdiction of Dura-Line is predicated upon the long arm provision of TR 4.4(A)(1) permitting jurisdiction of an action arising from doing any business in this state. The purpose of the provision is to extend jurisdiction to the boundaries permitted by the due process clause of the fourteenth amendment. Griese-Traylor Corp. v. Lemmons (1981), Ind.App., 424 N.E.2d 173.

Even so, due process does require certain minimum contact between the defendant and the state before jurisdiction may be exercised. International Shoe Co. v. Washington (1945), 326 U.S. 310, 66 S.Ct. 154, 90 L.Ed. 95. Two purposes are served by the rule. First, the concept of fairness requires that the defendant's contacts be such that maintenance of the suit does not offend traditional notions of fair play and substantial justice. Secondly, the restrictions are a consequence of territorial limitations on the power of the respective states and serve to promote the constitutional system of interstate federalism. World-Wide Volkswagen Corp. v. Woodson (1980), 444 U.S. 286, 100 S.Ct. 559, 62 L.Ed.2d 490.

The first purpose is usually analyzed on the basis of whether the burden imposed upon the defendant comports with the forum state's interest in adjudicating the dispute, the plaintiff's interest in obtaining convenient and effective relief, the interstate judicial system's interest in obtaining the most efficient resolution of controversies and the shared interest of the several states in furthering fundamental substantive social policies. 444 U.S. at 293, 100 S.Ct. at 565.

In order to meet the minimum contact standard it is said that the defendant's conduct and connection with the forum should be such that he should reasonably anticipate being haled into court there; unilateral activity by those claiming some relationship with a nonresident defendant cannot satisfy the contact requirement. World-Wide Volkswagen Corp., supra; Tietloff v. Lift-A-Loft Corp. (1982), Ind.App., 441 N.E.2d 986. As the Court stated in Hanson v. Denckla (1958), 357 U.S. 235, 253, 78 S.Ct. 1228, 1240, 2 L.Ed.2d 1283 and quoted with approval in Tietloff, at minimum the court must find "some act by which the defendant purposefully avails itself of the privilege of conducting activities within the forum state, thus invoking the benefits and protections of its laws."

In the present case affidavits filed by the parties disclose that Dura-Line is a Kentucky corporation whose principal office is in Middlesboro, Kentucky. It does not regularly do business in Indiana and has no office here. While there have been a few transactions in Indiana in the past, they are not related to the instant claim.

Sloan's claim is based upon an alleged agreement to pay her a commission on the sale of Dura-Line's products. The agreement arose while she was engaged in preparing a sales presentation to Northwestern Bell Telephone Company in Minneapolis, Minnesota. She telephoned Dura-Line in Kentucky from her home in Indiana and inquired whether Dura-Line would pay her a commission if she succeeded in having Northwestern Bell purchase Dura-Line's thin wall innerduct. Dura-Line responded that it would. She again called Dura-Line by telephone to report her success with Northwestern Bell and a 5% commission was agreed upon. Within a week Dura-Line mailed a letter to her in Indiana indicating it would compensate her for future sales she might make. Enclosed with that letter was a handwritten set of notes concerning people whom Dura-Line felt were contacts. This list of names included people from numerous states and contained the name of one...