Zamora v. Lewis
| Decision Date | 27 November 2019 |
| Docket Number | No. 1-18-1642,1-18-1642 |
| Citation | 438 Ill.Dec. 477,146 N.E.3d 231,2019 IL App (1st) 181642 |
| Parties | Baldomero ZAMORA Jr. and Brittney Zamora Cartalino, Individually and as Administrator of the Estate of Baldomero Zamora Sr., Deceased, Plaintiffs-Appellants-Cross Appellees, v. Troy LEWIS; Trina Lewis; Airbnb, Inc.; Airbnb Payments, Inc. ; United Technologies Corporation; Walter Kidde Portable Equipment, Inc.; John Does 1-20; and Julie Gilbert, Defendants, (Troy Lewis; Trina Lewis; Airbnb, Inc.; Airbnb Payments, Inc. ; United Technologies Corporation; and Walter Kidde Portable Equipment, Inc., Defendants-Appellees-Cross Appellants). |
| Court | United States Appellate Court of Illinois |
Darren VanPuymbrouck, of Falkenberg Ives LLP, of Chicago, for appellants.
Steven D. Hamilton, of McGuireWoods LLP, of Chicago, for appellees United Technologies Corporation and Walter Kidde Portable Equipment, Inc. Neil E. Holmen and Alla Cherkassky Galati, of Walker Wilcox Matousek LLP, of Chicago, for other appellees.
¶ 1 Plaintiffs Baldomero Zamora Jr. and Brittney Zamora Cartalino appeal from orders of the circuit court dismissing their lawsuit against defendants Troy and Trina Lewis, United Technologies Corporation, and Walter Kidde Portable Equipment, Inc. (Kidde), on the basis of a lack of personal jurisdiction.1 In a cross-appeal, those defendants as well as defendants Airbnb, Inc., and Airbnb Payments, Inc. (collectively, Airbnb), challenge the circuit court's decision to reinstate an evidence preservation order entered against Kidde that the court had previously vacated. For the reasons that follow, we affirm the circuit court's dismissal orders, but vacate the evidence preservation order.
¶ 3 Airbnb is an online marketplace that connects people who want to rent out their houses, apartments, or individual rooms therein (the hosts) to people in need of such lodging. Julie Gilbert created an account with Airbnb in August 2015. Trina Lewis, a Maine resident married to Troy Lewis, created an account with Airbnb in July 2016 and agreed to Airbnb's then-operative terms of service. Trina subsequently began listing her house in Boothbay, Maine, on Airbnb. In the online listing under a section for the house's amenities, Trina noted that the house had a smoke detector, and under a section for the house's rules, Trina prohibited parties or events.
¶ 4 In September 2016, Gilbert messaged Trina through Airbnb. In the message, Gilbert stated she lived in Chicago and was going to be traveling to Maine to have a surprise birthday party for her boyfriend. She stated that she was going to bring her boyfriend's son and daughter as well as two other children and wanted to stay in Boothbay. Gilbert concluded the message asking if Trina's house was available because she wanted to stay there. At some point around this time, though it is unclear exactly when, Gilbert requested to reserve two nights at the house with a total of six guests using Airbnb's platform. Eleven days after Gilbert's message, Trina responded, apologized for the delayed response, and told Gilbert that she looked forward to meeting her. At some point around this time, though it is unclear exactly when, Trina approved Gilbert's reservation request.
¶ 5 On October 9, 2016, Gilbert along with her boyfriend, Baldomero Zamora Sr. (Zamora), and multiple children were staying at the Lewises' house. During the morning, a child playing with matches accidentally set a couch on fire, which spread to other parts of the house and ultimately resulted in the death of Gilbert's son and Zamora.
¶ 6 In May 2017, Baldomero Zamora Jr. and Brittney Zamora Cartalino, individually and as the administrator of Zamora's estate, sued the Lewises, Airbnb, Kidde, John Does 1-20, and Gilbert under multiple causes of action. The causes of action focused on the ionization-triggered smoke detectors that the Lewises had installed in their house, which allegedly failed to timely activate and caused Zamora's death.
¶ 7 Shortly after plaintiffs filed their lawsuit, they filed an emergency motion to preserve evidence, which the circuit court granted on June 29, 2017. In relevant part, the preservation order required Kidde to "preserve any and all documents related to any other incident in which any of its smoke detectors were alleged not to have activated, or activated too late in a fire."
¶ 9 In July 2017, after obtaining leave from the circuit court, plaintiffs filed a 17-count first amended complaint, in which they named as defendants the Lewises, Airbnb, Inc., Airbnb Payments, Inc., United Technologies Corporation (United), Kidde, John Does 1-20, and Gilbert. In the first amended complaint, plaintiffs alleged that the Lewises, who were residents of Maine, had five ionization-triggered smoke detectors in their house, one on the first floor and four on the second floor, with the latter four allegedly having been manufactured and sold by United and Kidde. Plaintiffs claimed that the Lewises had purchased and installed three of the United and Kidde ionization-triggered smoke detectors in July 2016. At the time plaintiffs filed their first amended complaint, they did not know the identity of the company or companies involved in the chain of distribution of the smoke detector on the first floor. Plaintiffs asserted that the ionization-triggered smoke detectors were inadequate to detect and alert to the common residential house fire and that the ones installed in the Lewises' house failed to timely activate during the fire and proximately caused Zamora's death. According to plaintiffs, the Lewises should have purchased and installed superior, but more expensive, photoelectric smoke detectors.
¶ 10 Plaintiffs pled four counts specifically against the Lewises, three premised upon the Lewises' negligence (counts I through III) and one for a violation of the Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act (Consumer Fraud Act) ( 815 ILCS 505/1 et seq. (West 2016)) (count IV). In the three negligence counts, plaintiffs' allegations of negligence centered on the configuration of the Lewises' house, including a lack of egress from the second floor, the furnishings of the house, and the Lewises' decision to equip the house with deficiently designed ionization-triggered smoke detectors. In the count for a violation of the Consumer Fraud Act, plaintiffs alleged that the Lewises made false and misleading representations about the safety of their house in their Airbnb listing and that Zamora "relied on that deception in agreeing to celebrate his birthday there." Concerning jurisdiction over the Lewises, plaintiffs asserted that the circuit court had personal jurisdiction over them because they transacted business in Illinois by offering to rent their house to Illinois residents as well as contracting with Gilbert for the rental, while she was located in Illinois.
¶ 11 Additionally, plaintiffs pled four counts specifically against United and Kidde, one premised upon strict liability (count IX), one premised upon the failure to warn (count X), one sounding in negligence (count XI), and one for a violation of the Consumer Fraud Act (id. ) (count XII). In plaintiffs' cause of action for strict liability, they alleged that United and Kidde were in the business of advertising and selling unreasonably dangerous smoke detectors throughout the country, including in Illinois. In plaintiffs' cause of action for the failure to warn, they alleged that United and Kidde failed to disclose the unreasonably dangerous condition of ionization-triggered smoke detectors for residential use and failed to adequately instruct consumers on the proper use of such smoke detectors. In plaintiffs' cause of action for negligence, they alleged that United and Kidde knew or should have known that ionization-triggered smoke detectors were unsuitable for residential use. Lastly, in plaintiffs' cause of action for a violation of the Consumer Fraud Act, they alleged that United and Kidde made false and misleading representations in advertising materials about ionization-triggered smoke detectors around the country, including Illinois, and intended for those false representations to be relied on by consumers. Plaintiffs further claimed that Zamora actually "relied on this deception in agreeing to remain in the [Lewises'] House during his birthday celebration because he believed the House was safe" due to the presence of the Kidde ionization-triggered smoke detectors. Plaintiffs asserted that the circuit court had jurisdiction over United—a Delaware corporation with its principal place of business in Connecticut—and Kidde—a Delaware corporation with its principal place of business in North Carolina—because they transacted business in Illinois and maintained continuous and systematic contacts with Illinois through the sale of their products, including smoke detectors.
¶ 12 In addition, plaintiffs pled four counts specifically against Airbnb (counts V through VIII), three counts specifically against the John Does 1-20—the unknown company or companies involved in the chain of distribution of the smoke detector on the first floor—(counts XIII through XV), and one count specifically against Gilbert (count XVI). The final count was directed against all defendants and sought recoupment for plaintiffs' expenses for Zamora's funeral and burial (count XVII).
¶ 14 In August 2017, the Lewises filed a motion to dismiss based on a lack of personal jurisdiction and alternatively, based on forum non conveniens . In their jurisdiction argument, the Lewises contended that plaintiffs failed to establish that the circuit court had personal jurisdiction over them because they had no connection to Illinois and did not engage in conduct specifically directed or targeted toward Illinois consumers. Supporting their motion, the Lewises...
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