Seiferth v. Helicopteros Atuneros, Inc.

• Decision Date: 11 December 2006
• Docket Number: No. 05-60860.,05-60860.
• Citation: 472 F.3d 266
• Parties: Frederick M. SEIFERTH, Representative of the Heirs at Law of James A. Seiferth, Deceased, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. HELICOPTEROS ATUNEROS, INC., and Mark Camos, Defendants-Appellees.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Fifth Circuit

472 F.3d 266

Frederick M. SEIFERTH, Representative of the Heirs at Law of James A. Seiferth, Deceased, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. HELICOPTEROS ATUNEROS, INC., and Mark Camos, Defendants-Appellees.

No. 05-60860.

United States Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit.

December 11, 2006.

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Joel W. Howell, III (argued), Jackson, MS, for Seiferth.

Howard J. Daigle, Jr. (argued), Daniel Edwin Buras, Daigle, Fisse & Kessenich, Madisonville, LA, C. Richard Benz, Jr., Greenwood, MS, for Defendants-Appellees.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi.

Before SMITH, GARZA and CLEMENT, Circuit Judges.

JERRY E. SMITH, Circuit Judge:

Frederick Seiferth ("Seiferth") appeals the dismissal of his suit against Helicopteros Atuneros, Inc. ("HAI"), and Mark Camus for want of personal jurisdiction. We affirm in part, vacate in part, and remand.

I.

HAI, a California corporation with principal place of business there, buys, sells, leases, and maintains helicopters. It leased a helicopter to non-party Air 2, L.L.C. ("Air 2"), for one year, with Air 2 assuming responsibility for all maintenance, inspections, and operational expenses. There were no geographic restrictions on the helicopter's operation, and Air 2 was not required to inform HAI of the helicopter's whereabouts. The lease expressly authorized the use of an "externally attached cargo rack to support an aerial lineman" for work on power line structures.

Mark Camus¹ designed and patented an external work platform for use with a helicopter. Although he is a Tennessee domiciliary, all work on the design was conducted in Florida, where he was living at the time. He licensed the design to Air 2, which had hired him as a pilot. Air 2 had the platform manufactured, and it installed the platform on the helicopter leased from HAI. Camus transported the helicopter and work platform to Mississippi for use by Air 2 in that state. In April 2000, before flying a mission for Air 2 in Mississippi, he inspected the work platform.

In February 2001, James Seiferth, an Air 2 employee and New York resident, was standing on the work platform performing an aerial inspection of power lines in Mississippi. The base of the work platform broke, and he fell, suffering injuries resulting in his death.

Seiferth, as the decedent's personal representative, sued HAI and Camus in federal court, invoking diversity jurisdiction. The court, after denying Seiferth's request for limited jurisdictional discovery as to HAI, granted the defendants' motion to dismiss for a lack of personal jurisdiction. Seiferth appeals the dismissal and, in the alternative, the denial of discovery as to HAI.

II.

We review de novo a district court's determination that it lacks personal jurisdiction. Stripling v. Jordan Prod. Co., LLC, 234 F.3d 863, 869 (5th Cir.2000). The plaintiff bears the burden of establishing jurisdiction but is required to present only prima facie evidence. Luv n' care, Ltd. v. Insta-Mix, Inc., 438 F.3d 465, 469 (5th Cir.), cert. denied, ___ U.S. ___, 126 S.Ct. 2968, 165 L.Ed.2d 951 (2006). We resolve all relevant factual disputes in the plaintiff's favor. Id.

District courts have "broad discretion in all discovery matters." Alpine View Co. Ltd. v. Atlas Copco AB, 205 F.3d 208, 220 (5th Cir.2000) (quoting Wyatt v. Kaplan, 686 F.2d 276, 283 (5th Cir.1982)). On matters regarding personal jurisdiction, discovery rulings are reviewed for abuse of discretion and "will not be disturbed ordinarily unless there are unusual circumstances showing a clear abuse." Id. (quoting Wyatt, 686 F.2d at 283).

A federal court sitting in diversity must satisfy two requirements to exercise personal jurisdiction over a nonresident defendant. First, the forum state's long-arm statute must confer personal jurisdiction. Second, the exercise of jurisdiction must not exceed the boundaries of the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. Mink v. AAAA Dev. LLC, 190 F.3d 333, 335 (5th Cir.1999).

Mississippi's long-arm statute confers personal jurisdiction over "[a]ny nonresident person . . . who shall commit a tort in whole or in part in this state against a resident or nonresident of this state . . . ." MISS.CODE ANN. § 13-3-57 (2002). Under Mississippi law, a tort is not complete until an injury is suffered. Thompson v. Chrysler Motors Corp., 755 F.2d 1162, 1168 (5th Cir.1985) (quoting Smith v. Temco, Inc., 252 So.2d 212, 216 (Miss.1971)). If the injury occurs in Mississippi, the tort is committed, at least in part, in the state, and the requirements of the long-arm statute are satisfied. Id. The tortfeasor's presence in Mississippi is not required; causing an injury that occurs in the state is sufficient. Id. (quoting Brown v. Flowers Indus., Inc., 688 F.2d 328, 333 (5th Cir.1982)).

The Due Process Clause "operates to limit the power of a State to assert in personam jurisdiction over a nonresident defendant." Helicopteros Nacionales de Colombia, S.A. v. Hall, 466 U.S. 408, 413-14, 104 S.Ct. 1868, 80 L.Ed.2d 404 (1984). The "constitutional touchstone" of the inquiry to determine if personal jurisdiction can be exercised is whether the defendant "purposefully established minimum contacts in the forum State." Asahi Metal Ind. Co. v. Super. Ct., 480 U.S. 102, 108-09, 107 S.Ct. 1026, 94 L.Ed.2d 92 (1987) (quoting Burger King Corp. v. Rudzewicz, 471 U.S. 462, 474, 105 S.Ct. 2174, 85 L.Ed.2d 528 (1985)).

Personal jurisdiction can be general or specific. If a defendant's contacts with the forum state are "continuous and systematic," a court may exercise general jurisdiction over any action brought against that defendant, regardless of whether the action is related to the forum contacts. Helicopteros, 466 U.S. at 414-15, 104 S.Ct. 1868. If a defendant has relatively few contacts, a court may still exercise specific jurisdiction "in a suit arising out of or related to the defendant's contacts with the forum." Id. at 414 & n. 8, 104 S.Ct. 1868. It is not disputed that HAI and Camus lack sufficient contacts to justify general jurisdiction; only specific jurisdiction is at issue.

We articulated a three-step analysis for the specific jurisdiction inquiry in Nuovo Pignone, SpA v. STORMAN ASIA M/V, 310 F.3d 374 (5th Cir.2002):

(1) whether the defendant has minimum contacts with the forum state, i.e., whether it purposely directed its activities toward the forum state or purposefully availed itself of the privileges of conducting activities there; (2) whether the plaintiff's cause of action arises out of or results from the defendant's forum-related contacts; and (3) whether the exercise of personal jurisdiction is fair and reasonable.

Id. at 378 (citing Burger King, 471 U.S. at 474, 105 S.Ct. 2174). If the plaintiff successfully satisfies the first two prongs, the burden shifts to the defendant to defeat jurisdiction by showing that its exercise would be unfair or unreasonable. Id. at 382.

III.

The Mississippi long-arm statute permits the exercise of personal jurisdiction over both defendants. It is not disputed that the injury, James Seiferth's death, occurred in Mississippi. He fell from a platform that had been transported to the state by Camus and inspected by him there, and the platform was attached to HAI's helicopter, which had been leased with an express provision permitting the use of a work platform. Thus, under Mississippi law, at least part of the tort allegedly perpetrated by HAI and Camus was committed in Mississippi. That fact authorizes the exercise of personal jurisdiction under the long-arm statute.

Although Camus admitted to the district court that the "general allegations of the plaintiff's complaint satisfy the long arm statute," he now claims that, because all of his Mississippi contacts were in the context of his Air 2 employment, the court cannot exercise personal jurisdiction. This argument misstates the law.

Camus relies on Cole v. Alton, 567 F.Supp. 1081 (N.D.Miss.1983), an opinion not binding on this court, as authority for his claim. This reliance is misplaced. Cole involved an automobile accident in which the defendants were Atlas, the company that leased and operated the truck involved in the accident; the Atlas employee who was driving the truck; the owner of the truck; and several executives and shareholders of Atlas. Neither Atlas nor the driver, who had acted in the scope of his employment, contested jurisdiction, which was challenged only by the remaining defendants, none of whom had a single direct contact with Mississippi. The court held that jurisdiction "over the corporate entity cannot, without more, confer jurisdiction over the officers and shareholders individually." Id. at 1083 (citing Webb v. Culberson, Heller & Norton, Inc., 357 F.Supp. 923, 925 (N.D.Miss.1973)).

Unlike the Cole defendants, Camus had direct contacts with Mississippi. He transported the helicopter and work platform to the state and inspected the platform there less than a year before the accident. Under Mississippi law, when a corporate officer "directly participates in or authorizes the commission of a tort, even on the behalf of the corporation, he may be held personally liable." Mozingo v. Correct Mfg. Corp., 752 F.2d 168, 173 (5th Cir.1985) (citing First Mobile Home Corp. v. Little, 298 So.2d 676, 679 (Miss. 1974)).

In short, Camus is alleged to have directly participated in the commission of a tort in Mississippi. It is immaterial whether he did so within the scope of his Air 2 employment. The district court correctly held that Seiferth's "allegations fall within the aegis of the [long-arm] statute."

IV.

Thus, Mississippi's long-arm statute reaches both defendants. We now consider whether the exercise of personal jurisdiction offends the Due Process Clause.

A.

The exercise of personal jurisdiction over HAI is inconsistent with the limitations of the Due Process Clause, because HAI did not establish minimum contacts...