Forsythe v. Cohen
| Decision Date | 10 November 1969 |
| Docket Number | Civ. A. No. 4107. |
| Citation | 305 F. Supp. 1194 |
| Parties | Roger FORSYTHE and Carol Forsythe v. Saul COHEN and Morris Lansburgh, d/b/a Deauville Hotel, and Shawn Masters. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — District of Rhode Island |
Leonard A. Kiernan, Jr., Providence, R. I., for plaintiffs.
Joseph A. Kelly, Providence, R. I., for defendants.
The plaintiffs, residents of the State of Rhode Island, bring this action sounding in tort and contract for personal injuries, loss of services and medical expenses against the defendants as domiciliary residents of the State of Florida. The defendants have moved to dismiss the complaint contending the service of the summons and complaint was improper and defective and that they are not licensed to do business, are not doing business, are not residents of nor have any contacts with or in the State of Rhode Island so as to confer jurisdiction under the provisions of § 9-5-33, General Laws of Rhode Island 1956 as amended.
This recitation of events is based on the testimony established at a hearing on defendants' motion to dismiss and all reasonable inferences drawn therefrom.
In 1967, the plaintiffs went to the Versailles Hotel in Miami Beach, Florida as a result of reading a brochure obtained from a travel agency in Rhode Island advertising a tour, the itinerary of which included, among other things, staying at the Versailles with an evening meal and entertainment at the Deauville Hotel also in the same location in Florida.
In 1968, the plaintiffs again saw an advertisement in the Providence Sunday Journal for a tour to Miami Beach including the Deauville Hotel and as a result thereof contacted a local travel agency to make the necessary arrangements to go; while at the Deauville viewing a performance of the defendant, Shawn Masters, the plaintiff, Carol Forsythe, allegedly was subjected to hypnosis negligently allowed by the defendants without regard to the consequences of such act and as a result was injured physically and mentally.
The plaintiffs established through the testimony of Curtis Givan, an experienced travel agent, that his agency has in fact made direct reservations for and has received from the Deauville commissions; that he has a hotel guide listing all the hotels which authorized travel agents are allowed to book and that the Deauville is listed therein as one that will pay full commission to the agency for all reservations made through it; he also has a world wide hotel guide called "Consolidated Air Tour Manual" listing the defendant, Deauville Hotel. Apparently, this is sent to all the agencies and though Mr. Givan received his copy gratis directly from the publisher in California, he does not know if there are any agreements between the publisher and hotel proprietor for such listings. Mr. Givan further stated brochures advertising the Deauville were received by him, but he was not able to say if they came directly from the hotel or through tour operators though he knows they do come from both these sources.
In Westphal v. Stone Manufacturing Co., 305 F.Supp. 1187 (D.R.I. November 10, 1969) this court discussed the question of "doing business" within the state in relation to presence for jurisdictional and venue purposes and it need not be reiterated here. Applying the same rationale to the case at bar, it need, therefore, only determine whether or not the facts meet the "minimum contacts" test for the purpose of in personam jurisdiction.
This cause of action arose out of a contract made and executed in this state by the plaintiffs with a defendant who actively solicited the plaintiffs' patronage. The defendants' conduct reveals a pattern of activities in the Rhode Island District which impress a commensurate obligation to respond to the plaintiffs' suit. The permissible scope of this court's jurisdiction over the foreign defendants stems from their economic need to attract out of state tourists to their resort hotel. They have geared themselves to a wide spectrum of activities, national in scope, designed to reach every reservoir of business wherever the same may be found. To this end, there has been the utilization of a "Consolidated Air Tour Manual" giving rise, literally, to an international listing of their place of business which this court judicially recognizes is located in one of the East's, if not the Nation's, attractive resort areas; the "Hotel Guide", another nationally publicized listing of hotels, not only has the same accomplishments as the "Air Tour Manual" but in addition thereto goes to travel agents throughout the country with specific authorization to book clientele on a full commission basis; we find also that brochures were sent directly by the defendant owners to travel agents in foreign states and though the testimony in this case could not establish the particular brochure introduced in evidence advertising the Deauville as coming directly from the defendants, it does show such advertisements are received by local travel agents from dual sources, namely, the owners directly and tour operators. It may be said these are the direct contacts with the forum...
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...constitutional limit. See Conn v. ITT Aetna Finance Co., 105 R.I. 397, 402, 252 A.2d 184, 186 (1969). See also Forsythe v. Cohen, 305 F.Supp. 1194, 1197 (D.R.I.1969) (applying Rhode Island Inasmuch as H-RI never agreed to stand as surety for the debts incurred by WJP Co. in Hong Kong, and d......
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Leesona Corporation v. Concordia Mfg. Co.
...which induced a Rhode Island citizen to Florida where he was present only for a limited period and was injured, e. g., Forsythe v. Cohen, 305 F.Supp. 1194 (D.R. 1.1969), it does not on the other hand, deem this a case of a "naked buyer-seller relationship," e. g., Riverhouse Publishing Co. ......
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Atlantic Tubing & R. Co. v. International Engraving Co.
...and Metal Specialties Corporation, 344 F.Supp. 711, 713 (D.R.I 1972); Westphal v. Stone Manufacturing Company, supra; Forsythe v. Cohen, 305 F.Supp. 1194, 1196 (D.R.I.1969). Supporting this position, the Rhode Island Supreme Court in Conn v. ITT Aetna Finance Co., et al., 105 R.I. 397, 252 ......
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White v. Shiller Chemicals, Inc., Civ. A. No. 5158.
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