Sigros v. Walt Disney World Co.
| Citation | 129 F.Supp.2d 56 |
| Decision Date | 08 January 2001 |
| Docket Number | No. CIV. A. 99-40201NMG.,CIV. A. 99-40201NMG. |
| Parties | Johanna SIGROS and Sophie Sigros, Plaintiffs, v. WALT DISNEY WORLD CO., Walt Disney World Hospitality & Recreation Corporation, and John Doe, Defendants. |
| Court | United States District Courts. 1st Circuit. United States District Courts. 1st Circuit. District of Massachusetts |
Henry R. Simonelli, Simonelli & Associates, Southbridge, MA, for Johanna Sigros, Sophie Sigros.
Jeffrey S. Follett, Foley, Hoag, & Eliot, Boston, MA, Paul Bork, Hinckley, Allen & Snyder, Boston, MA, for Walt Disney World Co.
Paul Bork, Hinckley, Allen & Snyder, Boston, MA, for Walt Disney World Hospitality and Recreation Corp., John Doe.
Massachusetts residents, Sophie Sigros ("Sophie") and her daughter, Johanna Sigros ("Johanna"), filed a fifteen-count complaint against the defendants, Walt Disney World Co. ("Disney"), Walt Disney World Hospitality & Recreation Corporation ("HRC"), and Disney's employee, John Doe, alleging various state-law torts as well as violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act, 42 U.S.C. § 12101 et seq. Plaintiffs' claims arise out of injuries suffered by Johanna while the plaintiffs were vacationing in Florida at a resort owned by Disney. Plaintiffs' claim that this Court has subject matter jurisdiction is premised upon diversity of citizenship. 28 U.S.C. § 1332(a)(1).
The plaintiffs filed an amended complaint ("the Amended Complaint") on January 12, 2000. Pending before this Court is the motion of the defendants to dismiss the Amended Complaint pursuant to Fed. R.Civ.P. 12(b)(2), (3), and (6) or, in the alternative, to transfer venue to the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida (Docket No. 6). Because the primary thrust of the motion is that this Court lacks personal jurisdiction over the defendants, this memorandum and order focuses on that dispositive jurisdictional issue.
When challenged by the defendant, the plaintiff bears the burden of proving the existence of personal jurisdiction. Foster-Miller, Inc. v. Babcock & Wilcox Canada, 46 F.3d 138, 145 (1st Cir. 1995). In considering the defendants' motion, this Court employs the prima facie standard under which the Court considers whether the plaintiffs have proffered evidence that, "if credited, is enough to support findings of all facts essential to personal jurisdiction." Boit v. Gar-Tec Products, Inc., 967 F.2d 671, 675 (1st Cir. 1992). When determining whether a prima facie showing has been made, this Court does not act as a factfinder, but instead "accepts properly supported proffers of evidence by a plaintiff as true." Id. at 675.
Because questions of personal jurisdiction involve detailed examination of the particular circumstances of each case, facts of jurisdictional significance must be set forth at some length. Nowak v. Tak How Inv. Ltd., 899 F.Supp. 25, 27 (D.Mass. 1995), aff'd, 94 F.3d 708 (1st Cir.1996).
Disney is a Florida corporation qualified to do business in Florida and California and has its principal place of business in Florida. Disney's principal activity consists of the ownership and management of entertainment and recreational facilities in Florida and California. At all times relevant to the instant action, Disney has owned, operated and maintained Disney's Caribbean Beach Resort ("Caribbean Beach") and The Captain's Tavern ("Captain's Tavern") which are both located in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. Disney is not qualified or registered to do business in Massachusetts and has no offices, employees, agents, telephone listings, mailing addresses or bank accounts in Massachusetts. No travel agent located in Massachusetts is an agent of, or has authority to act on behalf of, Disney.
HRC is incorporated and has its sole place of business in Florida. HRC is not qualified or registered to do business in Massachusetts and has no offices, employees, agents, telephone listings, mailing addresses or bank accounts in Massachusetts. No travel agent located in Massachusetts is an agent of, or has authority to act on behalf of, HRC. HRC has never owned, operated or maintained Caribbean Beach or Captain's Tavern.
Disney and HRC are both wholly owned subsidiaries of Disney Enterprises, Inc. ("DEI"), a Delaware corporation. They are, however, separate legal entities maintaining separate books and records.
To demonstrate their prima facie case for personal jurisdiction, plaintiffs rely principally upon an affidavit (and accompanying exhibits) submitted by Sophie. Sophie claims that prior to 1981 and continuing through 1996 to the present she observed numerous advertisements for Walt Disney World, the Magic Kingdom, Epcot Center, and/or MGM Studios which are located in Orlando, Florida. Allegedly enticed by such advertisements, Sophie arranged, in May, 1996, for a trip to Walt Disney World for herself and her daughter, Johanna, who suffers from cerebral palsy and is confined to a wheelchair. Sophie states that she called Disney's 800 number to make reservations and was assured that she would receive handicapped-accessible accommodations for Johanna.
On or about May 7, 1996, Sophie received a written confirmation for the trip at her home in Massachusetts. The confirmation prominently displays the words "Disney" and the name of the hotel, "Disney's Caribbean Beach Resort", where the plaintiffs would be staying. Affidavit of Sophie Sigros ("Sigros Aff."), Exhibit A. The return address on the envelope in which the confirmation was mailed is directed to Walt Disney Attractions, Inc. ("WDA"). Id.
WDA, now known as Walt Disney Attractions, LLC, is a Florida limited liability company with its principal place of business in Florida.1 WDA, among other things, owns and operates the "Central Reservations Office" for certain theme parks, resorts and hotels located in Florida. Just as with Disney and HRC, WDA is owned by DEI but is a separate legal entity and maintains separate books and records.
On or about May 22, 2000, Sophie paid a deposit for the trip by mailing to Disney a check made out to Caribbean Beach. Sigros Aff. ¶ 10, Exhibit B. Later, she received marketing materials from Disney at her home in Massachusetts.
The incident from which this action arises occurred on or about November 29, 1996, after Sophie and Johanna ate dinner at Captain's Tavern on the Caribbean Beach property. Captain's Tavern is equipped with a handicapped-accessible ramp. Sophie, feeling that Johanna's electric wheelchair was too heavy for her to control on the ramp, asked their server, "John Doe", to assist Johanna in leaving the restaurant. As the unidentified employee was helping Johanna down the ramp, he lost control of her wheelchair and it crashed at the bottom of the ramp. As a result, Johanna fractured her right tibia and allegedly suffered other physical and emotional damages.
Several months after the accident, Sophie received a letter from Lee Cockerell, Senior Vice President of Operations at Disney, thanking her for choosing Caribbean Beach and requesting that she complete an enclosed satisfaction survey. The letter was printed on stationary bearing the Disney letterhead and was mailed in an envelope bearing Disney's return address. Sigros Aff. ¶ 12, Exhibit C.
To determine whether a federal district court has jurisdiction over a nonresident defendant in a diversity suit, the court must look to the law of the forum state. Hahn v. Vermont Law School, 698 F.2d 48, 49 (1st Cir.1983). Under Massachusetts law, jurisdiction over a nonresident defendant is appropriate if it is both authorized by statute and consistent with the due process requirements of the United States Constitution. Good Hope Indus., Inc. v. Ryder Scott, Co., 378 Mass. 1, 5-6, 389 N.E.2d 76 (1979); Nowak v. Tak How Inv., Ltd., 94 F.3d 708, 712 (1st Cir. 1996).
The relevant provision of the Massachusetts long-arm statute in the case at bar provides that a Massachusetts court may exercise personal jurisdiction:
over a person, who acts directly or by an agent, as to a cause of action in law or equity arising from the person's. ..transacting any business in this commonwealth.
M.G.L. c. 223A, § 3(a). In order for jurisdiction to exist pursuant to § 3(a), therefore, the facts must satisfy two requirements: 1) the defendant must have transacted business in Massachusetts, and 2) the plaintiff's claim must have arisen from the defendant's transaction of such business. Tatro v. Manor Care, Inc., 416 Mass. 763, 767, 625 N.E.2d 549 (1994).
The "transacting any business" clause in § 3(a) has been construed broadly. Tatro, 416 Mass. at 767, 625 N.E.2d 549. The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ("SJC") has explained that
[a]lthough an isolated (and minor) transaction with a Massachusetts resident may be insufficient, generally the purposeful and successful solicitation of business from residents of the Commonwealth, by a defendant or its agent, will suffice to satisfy this requirement.
Id. Therefore, when a minor transaction is part of "a larger systematic effort to obtain business from Massachusetts businesses and residents," a foreign defendant may be deemed to have transacted business under § 3(a). Id. at 769, 625 N.E.2d 549. In Tatro, for example, the SJC found that the acceptance by a defendant, nonresident hotel of a reservation from a Massachusetts resident by telephone constituted transacting business under the longarm statute because that contact was part of a broader attempt to solicit business from Massachusetts. Id. at 768-69, 625 N.E.2d 549. Similarly, this District Court has interpreted Tatro to stand for the proposition that § 3(a) is satisfied "when there is persistent advertising and solicitation of business from Massachusetts residents, even if it only involves a single sale...."...
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