Jackson v. Giuseppe

• Decision Date: 23 August 2010
• Docket Number: No. 09-30870.,09-30870.
• Citation: 615 F.3d 579
• Parties: Linda JACKSON; Brian Jackson, Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. TANFOGLIO GIUSEPPE, S.R.L.; Giuseppe Tanfoglio S.P.A.; Fratelli Tanfoglio Di Tanfoglio Bortolo & C.S.n.c., formerly known as Pacific Capital Partners of Oregon, Inc., Defendants-Appellees.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Fifth Circuit

615 F.3d 579

Linda JACKSON; Brian Jackson, Plaintiffs-Appellants,

v.TANFOGLIO GIUSEPPE, S.R.L.; Giuseppe Tanfoglio S.P.A.; Fratelli Tanfoglio Di Tanfoglio Bortolo & C.S.n.c., formerly known as Pacific Capital Partners of Oregon, Inc., Defendants-Appellees.

No. 09-30870.

United States Court of Appeals,Fifth Circuit.

Aug. 23, 2010.

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED.

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED.

Thomas A. Gennusa, II, Joseph S. Piacun, Gennusa, Piacun & Ruli, Metairie, LA, Addison Kennon Goff, III (argued), Goff & Goff, Ruston, LA, for Plaintiffs-Appellants.

John J. McCarthy (argued), McCarthy Law Firm, New York City, Isaac H. Ryan, Deutsch, Kerrigan & Stiles, L.L.P., New Orleans, LA, for Defendant-Appellee.

Appeals from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana.

Before KING, HIGGINBOTHAM and GARZA, Circuit Judges.

EMILIO M. GARZA, Circuit Judge:

This is an appeal from the district court's order granting Fratelli Tanfoglio, S.n.c.'s (“Fratelli”) Rule 60(b)(4) motion to vacate a default judgment against it. The district court held that it lacked personal jurisdiction-both general and specific-over Fratelli. The plaintiffs appeal. For the reasons set forth below, we AFFIRM.

I

This is the third time this court has been asked to review whether the district court has personal jurisdiction in this case. In May 1992, Arnold Jackson (“Jackson”) was injured by the unexpected discharge of a Titan .25 caliber semi-automatic pistol (the “pistol”). Jackson was rendered a quadriplegic and eventually died from his injuries. Plaintiffs-Appellants Linda Jackson, Jackson's wife, and their son Brian (collectively, “Plaintiffs”) filed suit in May 1993 against a number of defendants involved in the manufacture and sale of the pistol. ¹ Among the defendants were three Italian companies: Fratelli Tanfoglio, S.n.c. (“Fratelli”); Giuseppe Tanfoglio, S.p.a. (“Giuseppe S.p.a.”); and Tanfoglio Giuseppe, S.r.l. (“Giuseppe S.r.l.”) (collectively, the “Tanfoglio entities”). ² None of these firms made an appearance in the case and the Plaintiffs obtained a default judgment of approximately $11 million against them in December 1998. In entering the judgment, the district court ruled that the Tanfoglio entities manufactured the pistol, which had a firing pin that was too long, making the pistol discharge too easily. The district court entered a final judgment against the Tanfoglio entities and closed the case.

Nearly two years later, Fratelli filed a Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 60(b)(4) motion to vacate the default judgment on the basis that the judgment was void because the district court lacked personal jurisdiction over it. ³ In support of its claim, Fratelli asserted that it did not make the pistol that injured Jackson, and that there was nothing connecting Fratelli with Louisiana. The district court denied the motion, holding that the jurisdictional facts-that Fratelli had made the pistol had been conclusively established by the default judgment. On appeal, this court reversed and remanded the case for further adversarial proceedings on the issue of personal jurisdiction. See Jackson v. FIE Corp., 302 F.3d 515, 531 (5th Cir.2002) ( Tanfoglio I).

On remand, the parties engaged in considerable discovery. Plaintiffs argued that the court had specific personal jurisdiction because the Tanfoglio entities manufactured the pistol or the firing pin, and that there was general jurisdiction arising from the Tanfoglio entities' continuous and systematic contacts with the forum state. In its April 2007 order, the district court found that there was insufficient evidence to establish that: (1) Fratelli shipped any finished products or component parts to Louisiana or made the defective firing pin; (2) the actions of other Tanfoglio entities should be imputed to Fratelli; and (3) Fratelli was subject to general jurisdiction in Louisiana. Jackson v. F.I.E. Corp., No. 95-2389, 2007 WL 1259216, at *3-7 (E.D.La. April 30, 2007). Plaintiffs appealed and we vacated and remanded because the district court incorrectly found that Plaintiffs had not presented sufficient evidence to establish jurisdiction when it should have determined “whether there was sufficient evidence to prove that Fratelli Tanfoglio was not subject to the court's jurisdiction.” Jackson v. Fratelli Tanfoglio Di Tanfoglio Bortolo & C.S.N.C., 310 Fed.Appx. 629, 631 (2009) (per curiam) ( Tanfoglio II).

On remand, the district court found that Fratelli met its burden of proving the lack of both specific and general personal jurisdiction, and again granted the motion to vacate the default judgment. Once again, the Plaintiffs appeal.

A brief discussion of the Tanfoglio entities is necessary for purposes of considering personal jurisdiction. Giuseppe Tanfoglio owned and operated a company in Italy which manufactured the Titan .25 caliber pistol and other firearms. In 1969, Giuseppe's brother, Bortolo, incorporated Fratelli; Giuseppe's daughter, Maria Celsa, was one of Fratelli's directors. In 1978, Giuseppe and his son, Massimo, incorporated Giuseppe S.r.l. which eventually took over the operations of Giuseppe's original company. From approximately 1969 to 1990, Giuseppe S.r.l. and Giuseppe S.r.a. sold components to FIE in Florida for use in the assembly of the Titan .25 caliber pistol. Information obtained in discovery indicates that the majority of the Tanfoglio entities' products were distributed to FIE and another Florida-based company. In 1991, after FIE went out of business resulting in large losses for Giuseppe S.r.l., Giuseppe S.r.l. was liquidated under Italian law. Maria Celsa was appointed as Giuseppe S.r.l.'s liquidator and relinquished her position as a director of Fratelli. During the liquidation, Fratelli, who was Giuseppe S.r.l.'s largest creditor because of debts incurred in the operation of the businesses, remitted debts owed by Giuseppe S.r.l. to avoid bankruptcy in favor of liquidation to pay off all creditors. Fratelli also purchased some of Giuseppe S.r.l.'s assets and liabilities. Giuseppe S.r.l.'s final liquidation and dissolution of the entity was completed in 1996, two years before the Jacksons' default judgment against the Tanfoglio entities.

II

This court reviews a district court's determination of personal jurisdiction de novo. McFadin v. Gerber, 587 F.3d 753, 758 (5th Cir.2009); see also Tanfoglio II, 310 Fed.Appx. at 630; Tanfoglio I, 302 F.3d at 521 (stating that the de novo standard applies to challenges to personal jurisdiction brought under Rule 60(b)(4)). It is the law of the case that Fratelli bears the burden of proof to demonstrate the court lacks jurisdiction. Tanfoglio II, 310 Fed.Appx. at 630-31; see also Tanfoglio I, 302 F.3d at 520-21 & n. 6.

The limits of the Louisiana long-arm statute are coextensive with constitutional due process limits. Walk Haydel & Assocs. v. Coastal Power Prod. Co., 517 F.3d 235, 242-43 (5th Cir.2008) (citing A & L Energy, Inc. v. Pegasus Grp., 791 So.2d 1266, 1270 (La.2001)). Therefore, the inquiry is whether jurisdiction comports with federal constitutional guarantees. See id. at 243. A federal district court in Louisiana sitting in diversity may exercise personal jurisdiction over a non-resident defendant if (1) the defendant has purposefully availed himself of the protections and benefits of Louisiana by establishing “minimum contacts” in the state, and (2) the exercise of the jurisdiction complies with traditional notions of “fair play and substantial justice.” Id.

“Jurisdiction may be general or specific,” depending on the nature of the defendant's forum-related contacts. Luv N' Care v. Insta-Mix, Inc., 438 F.3d 465, 469 (5th Cir.2006). “Where a defendant ‘has continuous and systematic general business contacts' with the forum state, the court may exercise general jurisdiction over any action brought against the defendant. Where contacts are less pervasive, the court may still exercise ‘specific’ jurisdiction ‘in a suit arising out of or related to the defendant's contacts with the forum.’ ” Id. (citing Helicopteros Nacionales de Colombia, S.A. v. Hall, 466 U.S. 408, 415, 104 S.Ct. 1868, 80 L.Ed.2d 404 (1984)).

A

We dispose of any argument that general jurisdiction over Fratelli exists. General jurisdiction may be found when the defendant's contacts with the forum state are substantial, continuous, and systematic. Helicopteros Nacionales, 466 U.S. at 414-19, 104 S.Ct. 1868. The “continuous and systematic contacts test is a difficult one to meet, requiring extensive contacts between a defendant and a forum.” Johnston v. Multidata Sys. Int'l Corp., 523 F.3d 602, 609 (5th Cir.2008). To confer general jurisdiction, a defendant must have a business presence in the forum state. Access Telecom, Inc. v. MCI Telecomm. Corp., 197 F.3d 694, 717 (5th Cir.1999). Injecting a product, even in substantial volume, into a forum's “stream of commerce,” without more, does not support general jurisdiction. Bearry v. Beech Aircraft Corp., 818 F.2d 370, 375 (5th Cir.1987); accord Alpine View Co. v. Atlas Copco AB, 205 F.3d 208, 216 (5th Cir.2000) (noting that this circuit has rejected reliance on a stream-of-commerce theory to support general jurisdiction). Advertising and marketing through national media is insufficient, as are isolated visits to a forum. See Johnston, 523 F.3d at 612; Alpine View Co., 205 F.3d at 218; Bearry, 818 F.2d at 376.

Fratelli must have substantial contacts with Louisiana for the court to have general jurisdiction over it. Fratelli's representatives testified that Fratelli has never had an office, bank accounts, employees, or even a postal address in Louisiana, nor owned or leased any property there. Nor has Fratelli ever been registered to do business in Louisiana or paid taxes in Louisiana. Fratelli did not directly sell any products in Louisiana. Fratelli's only contacts are: (1) supplying parts or components for the assembly of handguns in Florida, which were then...