Pozzo Truck Center, Inc. v. Crown Beds, Inc., 45A04-0402-CV-115.

• Citation: 816 N.E.2d 966
• Decision Date: 29 October 2004
• Docket Number: No. 45A04-0402-CV-115.,45A04-0402-CV-115.
• Court: Indiana Appellate Court
• Parties: POZZO TRUCK CENTER, INC., Appellant-Plaintiff, v. CROWN BEDS, INC., & Kathy Foster, Appellees-Defendants.

816 N.E.2d 966

POZZO TRUCK CENTER, INC., Appellant-Plaintiff, v. CROWN BEDS, INC., & Kathy Foster, Appellees-Defendants.

No. 45A04-0402-CV-115.

Court of Appeals of Indiana.

October 29, 2004.

Edward R. Hall, Merrillville, IN, Attorney for Appellant.

OPINION

MATHIAS, Judge.

Pozzo Truck Center, Inc. ("Pozzo") filed a complaint alleging breach of contract against Crown Beds, Inc. and Kathy Foster ("Crown") in Lake Superior Court, Small Claims Division. The case was dismissed for lack of personal jurisdiction. Pozzo appeals arguing that the trial court erred when it determined that Crown did not have sufficient minimum contacts to establish jurisdiction in Indiana courts. Concluding that the trial court erred in its determination, we reverse.

Facts and Procedural History

Pozzo, located in Gary, Indiana sells and services new Mack trucks. Pozzo had an Indiana customer interested in a certain model of Mack truck, which Pozzo did not have in its inventory. Pozzo conducted a search of other Mack truck dealers and found a suitable truck located at Southwest Missouri Truck Center ("Southwest"), However, Pozzo's customer wanted certain modifications made to the bed of the truck. Southwest hired the appellee, Crown, located in West Plains, Missouri, to perform the work. Later, it was determined that Pozzo's customer wanted additional work performed on the truck's axles. On August 13, 2002, Pozzo delivered its own purchase order for the axle work to Crown, who performed the work. Pozzo alleges that upon returning the truck to Indiana it discovered that Crown's axle work was defective.

On July 18, 2003, Pozzo filed a complaint against Crown in the Lake Superior Court, Small Claims Division, alleging breach of contract. On September 22, 2003, Crown submitted a letter to the court, which the court treated as a motion to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction. On October 21, 2003, the court held a hearing on Crown's motion to dismiss. At that hearing, Pozzo asserted that Indiana had personal jurisdiction over Crown because 1) there is a basis for jurisdiction under Indiana's long arm statute, and 2) Crown exceeds the minimum contacts threshold under International Shoe v. Washington. In an order dated October 24, 2003, the trial court granted Crown's motion to dismiss. Pozzo now appeals.

Standard of Review

We initially note that Crown has not filed an appellee's brief in this case. Where the appellee fails to file a brief on appeal, we may in our discretion reverse the trial court's decision if the appellant makes a prima facie showing of reversible error. See McGill v. McGill, 801 N.E.2d 1249, 1252 (Ind.Ct.App.2004)

. This rule relieves us of the burden of controverting the arguments advanced in favor of reversal where that burden properly rests with the appellee. Id.

Personal jurisdiction is a court's power to bring a person into its adjudicative process and render a valid judgment over that person. See Saler v. Irick, 800 N.E.2d 960, 965 (Ind.Ct.App.2003)

(quoting Black's Law Dictionary 857 (7th ed. 1999)). "The existence of personal jurisdiction over a defendant is a constitutional requirement in rendering a valid judgment, mandated by the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment." Id. Our court employs a de novo standard of review "When reviewing questions of whether personal jurisdiction exists." Id.

Discussion and Decision

Determination of specific personal jurisdiction requires a two-step analysis:¹ 1) whether there is a basis for jurisdiction under Indiana Trial Rule 4;4(A), and 2) whether asserting jurisdiction violates the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.

First, we must determine if Crown's contacts with Indiana fall under Indiana. Trial Rule 4.4(A)(4), which provides in part:

Any person or organization that is a nonresident of this state ... submits to the jurisdiction of the courts of this state as to any action arising from the following acts committed by him or her or his or her agent: (4) having supplied or contracted to supply services rendered or to be rendered or goods or materials furnished or to be furnished in this state.

Ind. Trial Rule 4.4(A)(4) (2004). Trial Rule 4.4(A) is an enumerated act long-arm statute and therefore directs the court to assert jurisdiction over parties who commit any act listed in the statute.²Anthem Ins. Co., Inc. v. Tenet Healthcare Corp., 730 N.E.2d 1227, 1232 (Ind.2000). After finding a basis for jurisdiction under Trial Rule 4.4(A)(4), we must next examine whether asserting jurisdiction violates the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. In doing so, we must determine 1) whether there are minimum contacts between Crown and Indiana, and 2) whether asserting personal jurisdiction over Crown offends "traditional notions of fair play and substantial justice." Int'l Shoe Co. v. Washington, 326 U.S. 310, 316, 66 S.Ct. 154, 90 L.Ed. 95 (1945). "[T]he fairness inquiry is separate from the contacts question and may be used to defeat jurisdiction even if the defendant has sufficient contacts with the forum state," Asahi Metal Indus. Co. v. Superior Court of California, 480 U.S. 102, 121-22, 107 S.Ct. 1026, 94 L.Ed.2d 92 (1987).

Contacts are acts performed in the forum state or acts performed outside the forum state that have an effect within the forum state. See Anthem, 730 N.E.2d at 1235

. To determine whether minimum contacts exist, the court must examine the quality and nature of the contacts with the forum state and determine if they are related to the basis of the lawsuit and the result of deliberate conduct by the appellee. See Fetner v. Maury Boyd & Assocs., Inc., 563 N.E.2d 1334, 1337 (Ind.Ct.App. 1990),

trans. denied. "After the plaintiff establishes that there are minimum contacts, the defendant then carries the burden of proving that asserting jurisdiction is unfair and unreasonable." Anthem, 730 N.E.2d at 1237 (quoting Burger King Corp. v. Rudzewicz, 471 U.S. 462, 477-78, 105 S.Ct. 2174, 85 L.Ed.2d 528 (1985)).

"Things to consider when evaluating the defendant's contacts with the forum state are: (1) whether the claim arises from the defendant's forum contacts, (2) the overall contacts of the defendant or its agent with the forum state, (3) the, foreseeability of being haled into court in that state, (4) who initiated the contacts, and (5) whether the defendant expected or encouraged contacts with the state." Anthem, 730 N.E.2d at 1236. "A single contact with a forum state may be enough to establish specific personal jurisdiction; however, the defendant's conduct must create a substantial connection with the forum state and the acts must be purposeful, not a random, fortuitous or attenuated contact." Richards & O'Neil, LLP v. Conk, 774 N.E.2d 540, 546 (Ind.Ct.App. 2002).

In support of its argument that Crown had sufficient minimum contacts with Indiana, Pozzo directs our attention to North Texas Steel Co., Inc. v. R.R. Donnelley & Sons Co., 679 N.E.2d 513 (Ind.Ct. App.1997),trans. denied. In that case, a Texas corporation was hired by a New Jersey corporation³ to manufacture storage racks for use by an Indiana corporation at its Warsaw, Indiana facility. When the racks collapsed, causing severe damage, the Indiana corporation filed suit in Indiana. On appeal, our court found that minimum contacts existed because the Texas corporation specifically manufactured the racks for an Indiana corporation and then shipped the system to the Indiana corporation. Id. at 519. Additionally, we observed that the appellant's acts of manufacturing and shipping were done with the knowledge that the racks were for use by the Indiana corporation. Id.

Similar to the facts presented in North Texas Steel, in the present case, Crown performed the axle work at issue on the Mack truck specifically for Pozzo, an Indiana corporation. As the purchase order and invoice indicate, Crown had full knowledge that Pozzo was an Indiana corporation. In sum, Crown's contacts are such that it should have reasonably anticipated being haled into an Indiana court to adjudicate a dispute over the work it performed for Pozzo.⁴ Accordingly, we find that Crown established minimum contacts with the state of Indiana.

Finally, we now consider the following factors to determine whether asserting personal jurisdiction over Crown offends traditional notions of fair play and substantial justice: (1) the burden on the defendant; (2) the interests of the forum state; (3) the plaintiffs interest in obtaining relief; (4) the interstate judicial system's interest in obtaining the most efficient resolution of the controversy; and (5) the shared interest of individual states in furthering fundamental substantive social policies. See North Texas Steel, 679 N.E.2d at 519

(quoting Asahi, 480 U.S. at 113-15,

107 S.Ct. 1026). These interests must be balanced and weighed to make certain that asserting jurisdiction is fair in a particular case. See Asahi, 480 U.S. at 121-22,

107 S.Ct. 1026.

While the burden that Crown faces in defending itself in an Indiana court is heavier than the burden of defending against a suit filed in Missouri, that factor alone is not sufficient to defeat the existence of jurisdiction. See North Texas Steel, 679 N.E.2d at 519

. Further, Crown's inconvenience is outweighed by Pozzo's interest in adjudicating the dispute in the forum where the damage was realized and Indiana's interest in protecting its business owners from defective services. There do not appear to be more witnesses in Missouri than Indiana and it is not clear that there will be greater travel expenses or inconvenience for those involved in the litigation if the suit is tried in Indiana. Finally, it does not appear that any substantive social policies will be affected by the outcome of this controversy. For all these reasons, we find that asserting jurisdiction over Crown in Indiana comports with traditional notions of fair play and substantial justice.

Conclusion

The trial court erred by...