Scheuer v. District Court, In and For City and County of Denver
| Decision Date | 16 July 1984 |
| Docket Number | No. 83SA487,83SA487 |
| Citation | 684 P.2d 249 |
| Parties | Ralph SCHEUER, Petitioner, v. The DISTRICT COURT In and For the CITY AND COUNTY OF DENVER, and the Honorable Warren O. Martin, One of the Judges Thereof, Respondents. |
| Court | Colorado Supreme Court |
Pryor, Carney & Johnson, Robert W. Carney, Susan T. Smith, Englewood, for petitioner.
Waldbaum, Corn, Koff & Berger, P.C., Michael H. Berger, Denver, for respondents.
Pursuant to C.A.R. 21, petitioner, Ralph Scheuer, seeks an order prohibiting respondent district court from exercising in personam jurisdiction over him in a civil action containing claims for money damages against him. We issued a rule to show cause why such relief should not be granted, and now discharge the rule.
Paul Quinn, Trustee in Bankruptcy for Artisan Dental Arts, Inc. (Artisan), a Colorado corporation, Harold Campbell and Lorna Campbell have filed an amended complaint against Scheuer, James M. O'Brien and Gayla L. O'Brien. The complaint seeks money damages from Scheuer on claims of negligence and breach of fiduciary duty. It alleges that Scheuer resides in and is licensed to practice law in New Mexico; that he was retained by Artisan to settle claims of Artisan against Santa Fe Dental Arts, P.C. (SFDA), a New Mexico professional corporation; that by "agreeing to represent and by representing" Artisan, Scheuer transacted business in Colorado; and that Scheuer's conduct constituted tortious acts committed in Colorado. It further alleges that Artisan "became entitled to receive" $94,000 as the result of a certain June 4, 1982, settlement agreement; that Artisan received a sum of over $60,000 pursuant to the agreement, which sum was deposited into Scheuer's trust account; and that Scheuer negligently distributed those funds to James M. O'Brien, negligently failed to ascertain O'Brien's relationship to Artisan, and negligently permitted SFDA to be released from any liability to Artisan.
Scheuer moved to dismiss the two claims against him for lack of in personam jurisdiction, asserting that the amended complaint did not allege sufficient facts to satisfy Colorado's Long Arm Statute, section 13-1-124, 6 C.R.S. (1973), and that his contacts with Colorado were insufficient to satisfy the due process guarantees of the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution. Scheuer filed an affidavit in support of his motion. The affidavit avers in pertinent part that Scheuer, a New Mexico resident, is not licensed to practice law in Colorado and owns no property in Colorado; that he agreed in New Mexico to represent O'Brien on numerous matters pertaining to himself and his business interests, including Artisan, in late March of 1982; that all statements for services were sent to and all fees were received from O'Brien, not Artisan; that ninety-five percent of the telephone calls made by Scheuer to O'Brien did not involve Artisan; and that all meetings with O'Brien concerning Artisan occurred in New Mexico. Attached to this affidavit is a copy of Scheuer's billing statements to James O'Brien, which statements refer to many conferences with O'Brien at unspecified locations and reflect transmittals and telephone calls to O'Brien. After conducting a hearing on petitioner's motion to dismiss, the trial court, citing Waterval v. District Court, 620 P.2d 5 (Colo.1980), cert. denied, 452 U.S. 960, 101 S.Ct. 3108, 69 L.Ed.2d 971 (1981), denied Scheuer's motion to dismiss.
Section 13-1-124(1), 6 C.R.S. (1973), was adopted by the General Assembly to extend the personal jurisdiction of Colorado's courts to their maximum limits permissible under the United States and Colorado Constitutions. See, e.g., Le Manufacture Francaise v. District Court, 620 P.2d 1040 (Colo.1980); Waterval v. District Court, supra; Safari Outfitters, Inc. v. Superior Court, 167 Colo. 456, 448 P.2d 783 (1968). The statute contains the following pertinent language:
When a non-resident defendant challenges the trial court's long-arm jurisdiction, the party asserting a claim on the basis of the statute must make a prima facie showing that the trial court may exercise personal jurisdiction over the defendant. Le Manufacture Francaise v. District Court, supra; Texair Flyers, Inc. v. District Court, 180 Colo. 432, 506 P.2d 367 (1973). The allegations of the complaint as well as any evidence introduced by the parties at any hearing conducted to determine the jurisdictional issue may be considered to determine whether the plaintiff has established such prima facie showing of jurisdiction. Le Manufacture Francaise v. District Court, supra.
The initial question here, therefore, is whether plaintiff established a prima facie showing of threshold jurisdiction. The pertinent record before us consists of the pleadings, a transcript of the hearing on the motion to dismiss, certain exhibits and Scheuer's affidavit. The trial court based its conclusion that personal jurisdiction attached on the facts that Scheuer placed numerous telephone calls to O'Brien in Colorado, mailed file notes and billing statements to Colorado, and received funds from Colorado for services rendered. We agree that Scheuer's conduct constituted sufficient minimal contacts with Colorado to satisfy statutory and constitutional requirements.
We have previously indicated that negligent conduct in a foreign state which causes injury in Colorado may be deemed an act committed within Colorado for purposes of the long-arm statute. Texair Flyers v. District Court, supra; Vandermee v. District Court, 164 Colo. 117, 433 P.2d 335 (1967). The allegation that Scheuer negligently disbursed Artisan's funds from...
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