Old Republic Ins. Co. v. Cont'l Motors, Inc.

• Decision Date: 14 September 2016
• Docket Number: Civil Action No. 16-cv-46-JLK
• Citation: 207 F.Supp.3d 1213
• Parties: OLD REPUBLIC INSURANCE COMPANY, Plaintiff, v. CONTINENTAL MOTORS, INC., Defendant.
• Court: U.S. District Court — District of Colorado

207 F.Supp.3d 1213

OLD REPUBLIC INSURANCE COMPANY, Plaintiff,

v.CONTINENTAL MOTORS, INC., Defendant.

Civil Action No. 16-cv-46-JLK

United States District Court, D. Colorado.

Signed September 14, 2016

Michael L. Poindexter, Law Offices of Michael L. Poindexter, P.C., Golden, CO, for Plaintiff.

Benjamin Y. Ford, Sherri Rich Ginger, Armbrecht Jackson LLP, Mobile, AL, Jennifer Lyn Parker, Theresa R. Wardon, Wheeler Trigg O'Donnell, LLP, Denver, CO, for Defendant.

ORDER GRANTING MOTION TO DISMISS FOR LACK OF PERSONAL JURISDICTION (DOC. 7)

Kane, SENIOR UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

This products liability action is before me on defendant aircraft engine manufacturer's Motion to Dismiss for Lack of Personal Jurisdiction. The jurisdictional question turns on the procedural and substantive fairness of haling a nonresident defendant to court in Colorado on the basis of engine servicing performed in this state by a non-agent, non-party repair station that accessed defendant's service manual online. I answer the question in the negative and DISMISS the case.

Background.

Plaintiff Old Republic Insurance Company ("Old Republic") is an insurance company organized under the laws of the state of Pennsylvania with its principal place of business in Chicago, Illinois. Defendant Continental Motors Inc. ("Continental") is a Delaware corporation engaged in the manufacture and sale of aircraft engines and magnetos, and has its principal place of business in Mobile, Alabama. Old Republic filed suit in Colorado, alleging venue was proper under 28 U.S.C. § 1391 because a "substantial part of the events or omissions giving rise to the claim" occurred here. What that refers to is the fact the airplane was serviced in Colorado before taking off for Sun Valley, Idaho, and the service provider referenced Continental's online manuals while doing so. The service provider was an FAA-certified repair station, a non-party to this action and otherwise unaffiliated with Continental.

Discussion.

To obtain personal jurisdiction over a nonresident defendant in a diversity action, a plaintiff must show that jurisdiction is legitimate under the laws of the forum state and that the exercise of jurisdiction does not offend the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. Benton v. Cameco Corp. , 375 F.3d 1070, 1075 (10th Cir.2004). Colorado is the forum state and its long arm statute, Colo. Rev. Stat. § 13–1–124, is construed to extend jurisdiction to the full extent of the Constitution. Id. at 1075. The jurisdictional analysis here, then, reduces to a single inquiry of whether the exercise of jurisdiction over Continental offends due process.

To satisfy due process, a defendant must have sufficient "minimum contacts" with state that having to defend a lawsuit there would not offend traditional notions of fair play or substantial justice. Dudnikov v. Chalk & Vermilion Fine Arts, Inc. , 514 F.3d 1063, 1070 (10th Cir.2008) (quoting Int'l Shoe Co. v. Washington, 326 U.S. 310, 316, 66 S.Ct. 154, 90 L.Ed. 95 (1945) ). Personal jurisdiction through minimum contacts may be either general or specific. The former is premised on contacts so "continuous or systematic" that jurisdiction is appropriate even when plaintiff's claims are not related to them. The latter exists when defendant may be said to have "purposely directed" activities at residents of the forum and the litigation results from alleged injuries arising out of those activities. See generally , Burger King Corp. v. Rudzewicz , 471 U.S. 462, 472, 105 S.Ct. 2174, 85 L.Ed.2d 528 (1985). Old Republic concedes Continental's contacts with Colorado are insufficient to invoke general jurisdiction, and seeks only the application of specific personal jurisdiction in this case.

To support its assertion of specific personal jurisdiction, Old Republic relies exclusively on Continental's online service manuals and other "proprietary information for use in the service" of its engines, which are accessed by FAA-certified repair stations to service engines for end users throughout the country. Specifically, Old Republic asserts that the engine and magnetos at issue in this case were "inspected, repaired and overhauled in Colorado," using documents and instructions "furnished to the Colorado repair station by [Continental]." Am. Compl. ¶ 8....