Molnlycke Health Care Ab v. Dumex Medical Surgical

• Decision Date: 07 September 1999
• Docket Number: No. CIV. A. 99-1725.,CIV. A. 99-1725.
• Citation: 64 F.Supp.2d 448
• Parties: MOLNLYCKE HEALTH CARE AB, Plaintiff, v. DUMEX MEDICAL SURGICAL PRODUCTS LTD., Defendant.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Eastern District of Pennsylvania

Page 448

64 F.Supp.2d 448

MOLNLYCKE HEALTH CARE AB, Plaintiff, v. DUMEX MEDICAL SURGICAL PRODUCTS LTD., Defendant.

No. CIV. A. 99-1725.

United States District Court, E.D. Pennsylvania.

September 7, 1999.

MEMORANDUM & ORDER

KATZ, Senior District Judge.

Plaintiff Molnlycke Health Care AB brings this patent infringement claim against defendant Dumex Medical Surgical Products Limited. Molnlycke is a Swedish corporation with its principal place of business in Sweden, but it has a wholly owned subsidiary in Eddystone, Pennsylvania. Dumex is a Canadian corporation with its principal place of business in Canada. Plaintiff alleges that it owns a patent pertaining to wound care products and that defendant has infringed on that patent by advertising, selling, and distributing a similar product in the United States. Defendant's present motion requests dismissal for lack of personal jurisdiction, improper venue, and/or failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted.¹

1. Personal Jurisdiction

Defendant argues that it is not subject to general personal jurisdiction in this district because it has not conducted continuous and substantial business in Pennsylvania. Dumex also argues that there is no specific jurisdiction because it has no "minimum contacts" with this state. In support of these claims, Dumex explains that it does not have a regular place of business in Pennsylvania and that less than one percent of its sales occurred in Pennsylvania. Dumex also states that it has never sold the allegedly infringing product in Pennsylvania. See Def. Ex. A ¶¶ 2-4 (Aff. of Bill Goodwin).

A federal court may exercise personal jurisdiction over a non-resident defendant to the extent permitted under state law, see Fed.R.Civ.P. 4(e), and Pennsylvania authorizes long-arm jurisdiction to the extent permitted by the due process clause. See 42 Pa.C.S. § 5322(b). Once jurisdiction has been challenged, the plaintiff "bears the burden of establishing either that the cause of action arose from the defendant's forum-related activities (specific jurisdiction) or that the defendant has `continuous and systematic' contacts with the forum state (general jurisdiction)." Mellon Bank (East) v. DiVeronica Bros., 983 F.2d 551, 554 (3d Cir.1993) (citations omitted). The plaintiff may meet this burden and present a prima facie case for exercising personal jurisdiction by "establishing with reasonable particularity sufficient contacts between the defendant and the forum state." Mellon Bank (East) PSFS v. Farino, 960 F.2d 1217, 1223 (3d Cir.1992), quoting Provident Nat'l Bank v. California Fed. S & L Ass'n, 819 F.2d 434 (3d Cir.1987).

Plaintiff does not argue that this court has specific jurisdiction and relies exclusively on a claim of general jurisdiction. Pennsylvania law permits the exercise of general jurisdiction over a corporate defendant when the corporation carries on "a continuous and systematic part of its general business within this Commonwealth." 42 Pa.C.S. § 5301(a)(2)(iii). Unlike specific jurisdiction, general jurisdiction is premised on a defendant's relationship with the forum rather than on particular contacts with the plaintiff. "General jurisdiction permits a court to exercise personal jurisdiction over a nonresident defendant when `that party can be called to answer any claim against her, regardless of whether the subject matter of the cause of action has any connection to the forum.'" Barrett v. Catacombs Press, 44 F.Supp.2d 717, 723 (E.D.Pa.1999), quoting Farino, 960 F.2d at 1221.

To exercise general jurisdiction, a plaintiff must show that a defendant "has maintained `continuous and substantial' forum affiliations." Reliance Steel Prods. v. Watson, Ess, Marshall & Enggas, 675 F.2d 587, 589 (3d Cir.1982), quoting International Shoe v. Washington, 326 U.S. 310, 66 S.Ct. 154, 90 L.Ed. 95 (1945); see also Helicopteros Nacionales v. Hall, 466 U.S. 408, 414-16, 104 S.Ct. 1868, 80 L.Ed.2d 404 (1984) (same). These affiliations are construed in light of the due process clause,² which permits the court to exercise jurisdiction only if doing so would not "offend traditional notions of fair play and substantial justice." International Shoe, 326 U.S. at 316, 66 S.Ct. 154 (citations, internal punctuation omitted). That is, a defendant must "reasonably anticipate being haled into court[.]" World-Wide Volkswagen Corp. v. Woodson, 444 U.S. 286, 297, 100 S.Ct. 559, 62 L.Ed.2d 490 (1980). A "plaintiff must show significantly more than mere minimum contacts to establish general jurisdiction." Provident Nat'l Bank, 819 F.2d at 437; see also Reliance Steel Prods., 675 F.2d at 588-89 (same); Modern Mailers, 844 F.Supp. at 1053 (same). When evaluating a corporation's ties to a state for purposes of general jurisdiction, a court should not necessarily focus on the percentage of income that a corporation derives from those affiliations; rather, the court should look to the party's "purposeful and extensive availment" of a forum. Provident Nat'l Bank, 819 F.2d at 437. A court should also consider the degree to which a corporation's contacts with a given forum are "central to the conduct of its business." Id. at 438.

Defendant maintains two websites, and plaintiff argues that these internet sites establish general jurisdiction. The websites in question are located at domain names "www.dumex.com" and "www.woundcaredirect.com." See Compl. ¶ 11; Plf. Ex. B. One of these websites, www.woundcaredirect.com, permits users to place their names and addresses on a mailing list to receive product information. See Compl. ¶ 3; Plf. Ex. B at MHC000015 (including e-mail submission form). The websites advertise Dumex's products generally, see Plf. Ex. A (news release regarding the products); Plf. Ex. B (describing products); Plf. Ex. C ¶¶ 4-5 (Aff. of Stigall stating that products are for sale on the website), and the product that is the subject of the present cause of action is included. See Plf. Ex. B at MHC000022 (advertising Absorb-a-salt product and comparing it to Molnlycke product). Dumex's products can be ordered directly from the websites by clicking on any listed product, adding that item to a shopping cart, completing an on-line order form, and supplying a credit card number. See Plf. Ex. B at 16-28 (listing products); id. at 30 (describing ordering process); id. at 32-48 (explaining process step by step).

The growing case law in this Circuit's districts addressing the relationship between personal jurisdiction and internet sites has established a "sliding scale" of jurisdiction based largely on the degree and type of interactivity on the website in question:

[T]he likelihood that personal jurisdiction can be constitutionally exercised is directly proportionate to the nature and quality of commercial activity that an entity conducts over the Internet. ... At one end of the spectrum are situations where a defendant clearly does business over the Internet. If the defendant enters into contracts with residents of a foreign jurisdiction that involve the knowing and repeated transmission of computer files over the Internet, personal jurisdiction is proper. At the opposite end are situations where a defendant has simply posted information on an Internet Web site which is accessible to users in foreign jurisdictions. A passive Web site that does little more than make information available to those who are interested in it is not grounds for the exercise [of] personal jurisdiction. The middle ground is occupied by interactive Web sites where a user can exchange information with the host computer. In these cases, the exercise of jurisdiction is determined by examining the level of interactivity and commercial nature of the exchange of information that occurs on the Web site.

Zippo Mfg. Co. v. Zippo Dot Com, Inc., 952 F.Supp. 1119, 1124 (W.D.Pa.1997); see also Barrett, 44 F.Supp.2d at 724-26 (looking to same framework); Blackburn v. Walker Oriental Rug Galleries, Inc., 999 F.Supp. 636, 638 (E.D.Pa.1998) (same); Desktop Tech., Inc. v. Colorworks Reprod. & Design, Inc., Civ. A. No. 98-5029, 1999 WL 98572, at *3 (E.D.Pa. Feb. 25, 1999) (same). While plaintiff correctly acknowledges that most of the cases applying this framework have looked to specific jurisdiction, the court agrees that it may also properly be used in cases asserting general jurisdiction. See Desktop Tech., 1999 WL 98572 at *2-4.

The court, however, disagrees with plaintiff's more fundamental premise and holds that the establishment of a website through which customers can order products does not, on its own, suffice to establish general jurisdiction. To hold that the possibility of ordering products from a website establishes general jurisdiction would effectively hold that any corporation with such a website is subject to general jurisdiction in every state. The court is not willing to take such a step.

While the court acknowledges that new technology will necessarily have an effect on many aspects of the law, it is untenable to suggest that all prior jurisprudence is irrelevant to the internet. The Third Circuit and its district courts have typically required a very high showing before exercising general jurisdiction, and the court sees no reason for the internet to change this approach. For example in Gehling v. St. George's School of Medicine, Ltd., 773 F.2d 539, 542 (3d Cir. 1985), the Third Circuit held that general jurisdiction was improper over a defendant school that advertised in two national newspapers that had substantial circulation in Pennsylvania, received approximately six percent of its students from Pennsylvania, staged a media campaign that included appearances on Philadelphia radio and television shows, and entered into a long-term arrangement with a school in Pennsylvania. See id. at 542-43. The Third Circuit emphasized that there was no evidence that Pennsylvania students were particularly solicited or that Pennsylvania itself was a focus of this...