Sharp Electronics Corp. v. Hayman Cash Register Co.

• Decision Date: 04 May 1981
• Docket Number: No. 80-1610,80-1610
• Citation: 655 F.2d 1228
• Parties: , 1981-1 Trade Cases 63,991 SHARP ELECTRONICS CORPORATION, Appellant, v. HAYMAN CASH REGISTER COMPANY, et al.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — District of Columbia Circuit

Page 1228

655 F.2d 1228

210 U.S.App.D.C. 411, 1981-1 Trade Cases 63,991

SHARP ELECTRONICS CORPORATION, Appellant, v. HAYMAN CASH REGISTER COMPANY, et al.

No. 80-1610.

United States Court of Appeals District of Columbia Circuit.

Argued April 9, 1981.

Decided May 4, 1981.

Peter A. Dankin, New York City, for appellant. Richard Linn, Washington, D. C., also entered an appearance for appellant.

Stephen L. Dreyfuss, New York City, with whom Bernard Hellring, Newark, N. J., was on the brief, for appellees.

Before McGOWAN, Chief Judge, and TAMM and WALD, Circuit Judges.

Opinion PER CURIAM.

PER CURIAM:

Plaintiff-appellant, Sharp Electronics Corp. (Sharp), filed an action in the District Court for the District of Columbia alleging violations of the Sherman Act by four defendants. Two of the defendants, Talco Cash Register Co. (Talco), a New Jersey corporation doing business in New Jersey, and its president, Hiram M. Tallmadge, Jr., a resident of New Jersey, moved to dismiss the complaint for, inter alia, improper venue under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(3) and 28 U.S.C. § 1406 (1976). The district court found that "even a casual reading of the complaint in this action would indicate that the 'contacts weigh most heavily' in New Jersey," Sharp Electronics Corp. v. Hayman Cash Register Co., No. 79-3268, Order at 1 (D.D.C., filed April 23, 1980), Joint Appendix at 150, and dismissed the action for improper venue as to all four defendants. Sharp appeals.

Sharp alleges that venue is proper in this district under 28 U.S.C. § 1391(b) (1976) and under sections 4 and 12 of the Clayton Act, 15 U.S.C. §§ 15, 22 (1976). The Clayton Act sections apply only to defendants Hayman Cash Register Company and Stanley Hayman, both "found" in the District of Columbia within the meaning of those sections. Thus, venue for the action as filed against all four defendants depends on the applicability of section 1391(b). Section 1391(b) provides in relevant part that a "civil action wherein jurisdiction is not founded solely on diversity of citizenship may be brought only in the judicial district in which all defendants reside, or in which the claim arose ...." This provision has been widely interpreted as establishing venue "where the contacts weigh most heavily," e. g., Philadelphia Housing Authority v. American Radiator & Standard Sanitary Corp., 291 F.Supp. 252, 260 (E.D.Pa.1968) (leading case). In this circuit, we have determined that where the claim arose should "be ascertained by advertence to events having operative significance in the case, and a commonsense appraisal of the implications of those events for accessibility to witnesses and records." Lamont v. Haig, 590 F.2d 1124, 1134 (D.C.Cir.1978). In a footnote, we elaborated upon this proposition in terms relevant to this case:

In some cases, testimony of nonparties and records or other evidence not in the parties' possession may be insignificant; in others, it may be most readily available in areas in which none of the principal events in issue in the suit occurred. In such situations, the forum court should not oppose the plaintiff's choice of venue if the activities that transpired in the forum district were not insubstantial in relation to the totality of events giving rise to the plaintiff's grievance and if the forum is generally convenient for all litigants. An additional, important consideration might be ensuring the existence of at least one forum wherein venue and personal jurisdiction requirements permit multiple-party litigation to proceed. See Brunette Mach. Works, Ltd. v. Kockum Indus., Inc., 406 U.S. 706, 710 n.8 (92 S.Ct. 1936, 1939 n.8, 32 L.Ed.2d 428) (1972) ....

Id. at 1134 n.62.

The facts underlying this lawsuit are complex. Sharp, a New Jersey corporation, filed this suit in the District of Columbia in December, 1979. Defendants Hayman Cash Register and Talco Cash Register had filed separate suits against Sharp for breach of contract in different New Jersey state courts in June and August 1979 respectively. Subsequently, in February of 1981, Hayman Cash Register and Talco Cash Register and the Independent Cash Register Dealer Association filed suit against Sharp and its parent company, Sharp Corporation, in federal district court in New Jersey. We agree with the district court's implicit finding that efficient conduct of Sharp's action would be enhanced by moving it to New Jersey, where most of the parties are located and related lawsuits are in progress.

This approach presumes, however, that the lawsuit is capable of being pursued in New Jersey; Sharp disputes the validity of this presumption. It argues, for example, that New Jersey may be found to be an inappropriate venue for Hayman Cash Register or Stanley Hayman, or that personal jurisdiction may be found lacking in New Jersey for one of these...