St. Jarre v. Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG, Civ. A. No. 2:93cv59.

• Decision Date: 01 April 1993
• Docket Number: Civ. A. No. 2:93cv59.
• Parties: Jerry ST. JARRE, Plaintiff, v. HEIDELBERGER DRUCKMASCHINEN A.G., Defendant.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Eastern District of Virginia

816 F. Supp. 424

Jerry ST. JARRE, Plaintiff, v. HEIDELBERGER DRUCKMASCHINEN A.G., Defendant.

Civ. A. No. 2:93cv59.

United States District Court, E.D. Virginia, Norfolk Division.

April 1, 1993.

Robert Linwood Mills, Rutter & Montagna, Norfolk, VA, for St. Jarre.

David Neil Ventker, Huff, Poole & Mahoney, P.C., Virginia Beach, VA, for Druckmaschinen.

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

PAYNE, District Judge.

Notwithstanding that Heidelberger Druckmaschinen A.G. ("HDAG") removed this action to this court on the basis of diversity jurisdiction, it now has moved to dismiss the action for lack of subject matter jurisdiction under Fed.R.Civ.P. Rule 12(b)(1). HDAG also seeks dismissal under Fed.R.Civ.P. Rule 12(b)(2), alleging the absence of in personam jurisdiction. Finally, HDAG seeks dismissal of plaintiff's strict liability claim under Fed. R.Civ.P. 12(b)(6). For the reasons explained below, the motion to dismiss for lack of subject matter jurisdiction is denied; the motion to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction is denied; and the motion to dismiss the strict liability claim is granted.

STATEMENT OF FACTS

Jerry St. Jarre ("St. Jarre"), a Virginia resident, instituted this action in the Circuit Court for the City of Norfolk alleging that he sustained serious injuries while operating an allegedly defective offset printing press manufactured by HDAG, a corporation "organized and existing under the laws of the Federal Republic of Germany." (Complaint, at ¶¶ 1-3). The complaint seeks damages in the amount of two million dollars and asserts causes of action in negligence, strict liability in tort and breach of express and implied warranties.

HDAG was served in Germany pursuant to the Hague Convention on the Service Abroad of Judicial and Extrajudicial Documents in Civil or Criminal Matters. HDAG then removed the action to this court, asserting the existence of diversity of citizenship in a controversy involving an amount exceeding $50,000. St. Jarre's complaint makes few factual allegations beyond those already recounted, and this paucity of factual allegations is in actuality the principal basis of HDAG's jurisdictional motions.

DISCUSSION

A. Subject Matter Jurisdiction

Conceding, as it must, the existence of diversity of citizenship and the sufficiency of the amount in controversy, HDAG advances two related, and equally meritless, points as the bases for its challenge to subject matter jurisdiction. HDAG first asserts that "if subject matter jurisdiction would not exist in a Virginia court, then this Court likewise has no subject matter jurisdiction and the matter must be dismissed." HDAG then asserts that it "is hornbook law that state courts cannot exercise subject matter jurisdiction over events occurring beyond the boundaries of the state in which they sit."

Even if it were true that a Virginia court would lack subject matter jurisdiction over this action (which itself is a proposition lacking in merit), that is of no moment here because subject matter jurisdiction in the federal courts is created and defined by federal, not state, law. In this case, it is clear from the face of plaintiff's complaint that complete diversity of citizenship exists between the parties and that the amount in controversy exceeds $50,000, exclusive of interest and costs. Accordingly, 28 U.S.C. § 1332(a) confers subject matter jurisdiction over the action.¹

HDAG also contends that St. Jarre's failure to state in his complaint that he was injured in Virginia deprives the court of subject matter jurisdiction. The court knows of no requirement that, in a case such as this, a plaintiff must allege that the injury occurred in the forum state in order to establish subject matter jurisdiction. HDAG has cited no authority for that notion. Accordingly, the court declines to accept it.

B. Personal Jurisdiction

A federal court must consider two questions in determining whether it can exercise personal jurisdiction over an out-of-state defendant: (1) whether the long arm statute of the state in which it sits provides authority for the assertion of jurisdiction; and (2) whether the assertion of jurisdiction under the long arm statute comports with the due process requirements of the federal constitution.² Brown v. American Broadcasting Co., Inc., 704 F.2d 1296, 1300 (4th Cir.1983); Verosol B.V. v. Hunter Douglas, Inc., 806 F.Supp. 582, 588-89 (E.D.Va.1992). Once personal jurisdiction is challenged by a motion pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(2), the plaintiff has the burden to prove by a preponderance of the evidence that the defendant is subject to personal jurisdiction in the forum. See, e.g., Combs v. Bakker, 886 F.2d 673, 676 (4th Cir.1989); Hunter Douglas, 806 F.Supp. 582 (E.D.Va.1992):

When, as here, the jurisdictional challenge is decided on the pleadings, affidavits, and documents submitted, the plaintiff must make a prima facie showing that a sufficient basis exists for this court to assert jurisdiction over the defendant.... In determining whether the plaintiff has met this prima facie burden, the court construes the pleadings, affidavits, and documents in the light most favorable to the plaintiff.

Hunter Douglas, 806 F.Supp. at 588 (citations omitted).

Although the purported basis for personal jurisdiction is not entirely clear from the complaint, St. Jarre's brief asserts that Va. Code Ann. § 8.01-328.1(A)(1) provides the basis for the exercise of personal jurisdiction over HDAG. Section 8.01-328.1(A)(1) provides, in pertinent part:

§ 8.01-328.1. When personal jurisdiction over person may be exercised. A.— A court may exercise personal jurisdiction over a person, who acts directly or by an agent, as to a cause of action arising from the person's:

1. Transacting any business in this Commonwealth; ...

In order for a cause of action to arise from any business transacted in Virginia, "the activities that support the jurisdictional claim must coincide with those that form the basis of the plaintiff's substantive claim." City of Virginia Beach v. Roanoke River Basin Assoc., 776 F.2d 484, 487 (4th Cir. 1985). As the Supreme Court of Virginia has explained, "a single act by a non-resident which amounts to `transacting business' in Virginia and gives rise to a cause of action may be sufficient to confer jurisdiction upon Virginia courts." Danville Plywood Corp. v. Plain and Fancy Kitchens, Inc., 218 Va. 533, 534-36, 238 S.E.2d 800, 802 (1977) (cited in Roanoke River Basin Assoc., 776 F.2d 484, 487 (4th Cir.1985)).

HDAG correctly points out that St. Jarre's complaint fails to allege facts which would support a finding that HDAG transacted any business in Virginia; that St. Jarre was injured in Virginia; or that, if St. Jarre was injured outside Virginia, HDAG's contacts with Virginia are sufficient to justify the exercise of personal jurisdiction over HDAG by a court in Virginia. Thus, St. Jarre's complaint runs afoul of Fed.R.Civ.P. 8(a)(1), which requires a plaintiff's complaint to contain "a short and plain statement of the grounds upon which the court's jurisdiction depends...."

However, St. Jarre's memorandum in opposition to HDAG's motion to dismiss states that St. Jarre was injured in Virginia and shows, at least...