Reed v. American Airlines, Inc.

No. 81-288 IN THE SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF MONTANA 1981 FRED REED, Petitioner, AMERICAN AIRLINES, INC., Respondent. ORIGINAL PROCEEDING: Counsel of Record: For Petitioner: William Boggs argued, Missoula, Montana For Respondent: Keller, Reynolds, Drake, Sternhagen and Johnson, Helena, Montana Kieth Keller argued, Helena, Montana Submitted: December 7, 1981 Decided: February 18, 1982 Mr. J u s t i c e Frank B. M o r r i s o n , J r . , d e l i v e r e d t h e Opinion of t h e Court. T h i s c a s e i s c e r t i f i e d from U.S. D i s t r i c t Court, t h e D i s t r i c t of Montana, Missoula D i v i s i o n . P e t i t i o n e r had f i l e d a d i v e r s i t y a c t i o n based upon t h e a l l e g e d n e g l i g e n c e of American A i r l i n e s , I n c . , i n t h e h a n d l i n g and s u b s e q u e n t l o s s of p e t i t i o n e r ' s l u g g a g e i n New York C i t y . In that c o m p l a i n t , p l a i n t i f f Reed a f f i r m a t i v e l y a l l e g e d t h a t t h e d e f e n d a n t c o r p o r a t i o n w a s "found w i t h i n Montana." Defendant, American A i r l i n e s , f i l e d a motion t o d i s m i s s t h e c o m p l a i n t f o r t h e r e a s o n t h a t t h e United S t a t e s D i s t r i c t C o u r t l a c k e d personal j u r i s d i c t i o n over t h e defendant. The c e r t i f i c a t i o n followed. C e r t i f i c a t i o n presents the following issues: " ( 1 ) Was t h e d e f e n d a n t American A i r l i n e s found i n Montana? " ( 2 ) I f n o t , do t h e l e t t e r e d s u b d i v i s i o n s of Rule 4 B ( 1 ) e x t e n d t h a t j u r i s d i c t i o n t o c a s e s where t h e c l a i m d o e s n o t a r i s e o u t of t h e d o i n g of t h e a c t s mentioned i n t h e l e t t e r e d subdivisions?" W e f i n d i s s u e 1 t o be d i s p o s i t i v e . R e s o l u t i o n of t h e f i r s t i s s u e depends upon t h e f a c t s found i n t h i s r e c o r d . W e t h e r e f o r e s e t them f o r t h i n d e t a i l . P l a i n t i f f t r a v e l e d t o New York C i t y from M i s s o u l a , Montana, v i a Northwest A i r l i n e s on December 5 , 1978. Plaintiff i n t e n d e d t o t r a n s f e r f l i g h t s and c o n t i n u e t o Nepal on B r i t i s h Airways. During t h e p r o c e s s of t r a n s f e r , t h e p l a i n t i f f l o s t a c a s e c o n t a i n i n g i n e x c e s s of $2,000 worth of p r o f e s s i o n a l camera equipment. The c a s e u l t i m a t e l y a r r i v e d i n Nepal s e v e r a l weeks l a t e r b u t was found t o be empty. The damages a t t e n d a n t t h i s l o s s formed t h e b a s i s of p l a i n t i f f ' s c l a i m . Except f o r a n i n f r e q u e n t c h a r t e r f l i g h t , American ~ i r l i n e s o e s n o t f l y i n t o o r o u t of Montana. d I t h a s no p r o p e r t y n o r p e r s o n n e l i n Montana. I t p a y s no t a x e s i n Montana. American A i r l i n e s does s o l i c i t b u s i n e s s i n Montana by l i s t i n g s i n 19 Montana t e l e p h o n e d i r e c t o r i e s , by t e l e v i s i o n a d v e r t i s i n g b r o a d c a s t i n Montana, and by f u r n i s h i n g m a t e r i a l t o t r a v e l a g e n t s i n Montana. O c c a s i o n a l l y American A i r l i n e s ' p e r s o n n e l come t o Montana t o i n s t r u c t Montana t r a v e l a g e n t s . The a i r l i n e s h a s p r o v i d e d a s e r v i c e e n a b l i n g Montana r e s i d e n t s t o c a l l t o l l f r e e , s c h e d u l i n g f l i g h t s on American A i r l i n e s . D e f e n d a n t ' s b u s i n e s s o r i g i n a t i n g t h r o u g h c a l l s from Montana d i r e c t t o American A i r l i n e s o r t h r o u g h Montana-based t r a v e l a g e n c i e s approximated $803,000 i n 1980 and $992,000 from March t o December of 1979. The p l a i n t i f f i s a c i t i z e n of t h e S t a t e of Montana. American A i r l i n e s i s a Delaware c o r p o r a t i o n p r i n c i p a l l y d o m i c i l e d i n Texas. The conduct of which p l a i n t i f f complains of d e f e n d a n t o c c u r r e d i n New York. Under t h e f a c t s above s e t f o r t h , w e h o l d t h a t American A i r l i n e s was "found w i t h i n Montana" and t h a t t h e r e i s j u r i s d i c t i o n i n t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s ~ i s t r i c C o u r t f o r t h e ~ i s t r i c of t t Montana. B e f o r e t h e a c t i v i t i e s of a f o r e i g n c o r p o r a t i o n c a n c r e a t e a p h y s i c a l p r e s e n c e w i t h i n Montana, t h o s e a c t i v i t i e s must be s u b s t a n t i a l , c o n t i n u o u s , and s y s t e m a t i c a s opposed t o isolated, casual, o r incidental. The a c t i v i t i e s must comprise a s i g n i f i c a n t component of t h e company's b u s i n e s s , a l t h o u g h t h e p e r c e n t a g e a s r e l a t e d t o t o t a l b u s i n e s s may be small. See, e.g., O'Neal v . Hicks Brokerage Company ( 4 t h Cir. 1 9 7 6 ) , 537 F.2d 1266; R a t l i f f v . Cooper L a b o r a t o r i e s , Inc. (4th C i r . 1 9 7 1 ) , 4 4 4 F.2d 745; Lee v . Walworth Valve Co. (4th C i r . 1 9 7 3 ) , 482 F.2d 297. W e must d e c i d e where American A i r l i n e s , under t h e f a c t s h e r e b e f o r e u s , f i t s w i t h i n t h e l e g a l framework p r o v i d e d . A s t r i k i n g l y s i m i l a r f a c t s i t u a t i o n was p r e s e n t e d i n Ladd v . KLM ~ o y a l u t c h i r l i n e s(S.D. N . Y . ~ ~ 1 9 7 8 ) , 456 F.Supp. 422. I n t h a t c a s e , p l a i n t i f f b r o u g h t an a c t i o n i n F e d e r a l C o u r t i n Tennessee and t h e c a s e was h e a r d by a f e d e r a l d i s t r i c t judge i n New York S t a t e p u r s u a n t t o 28 U.S.C. 1407. The i s s u e was whether t h e Tennessee c o u r t had j u r i s d i c t i o n . Defendant a i r l i n e had i t s p r i n c i p a l p l a c e of b u s i n e s s i n t h e N e t h e r l a n d s . I t was n o t a u t h o r i z e d t o f l y i n t o o r o u t of any p l a c e w i t h i n Tennessee. I t was n o t a u t h o r i z e d t o do b u s i n e s s i n Tennessee and p a i d no t a x e s i n t h a t s t a t e . The a i r l i n e had no o f f i c e o r bank a c c o u n t i n Tennessee and d i d n o t own o r l e a s e any property there. However, t h e a i r l i n e d i d m a i n t a i n t o l l f r e e numbers w i t h i n t h e s t a t e and a d v e r t i s e d i n s i x major t e l e p h o n e directories. The a i r l i n e s u p p l i e d p r o m o t i o n a l m a t e r i a l s t o Tennessee t r a v e l a g e n t s and p e r i o d i c a l l y s e n t p e r s o n n e l i n t o Tennessee f o r t h e p u r p o s e of i n s t r u c t i n g t h o s e t r a v e l a g e n t s . T r a v e l a g e n c i e s i n Tennessee accounted f o r t o t a l b u s i n e s s volume i n 1976 of $323,304. O t h e s e f a c t s , t h e c o u r t found n t h e d e f e n d a n t a i r l i n e t o b e p r e s e n t i n Tennessee f o r p u r p o s e of c o n f e r r i n g i n personam j u r i s d i c t i o n . Another s i m i l a r c a s e was d e c i d e d by a f e d e r a l d i s t r i c t judge i n G u l l e t t v . Q a n t a s Airways, L t d . (M.D. Ten. 19751, 4 1 7 F.Supp. 490. I n t h e G u l l e t t c a s e , t h e a i r l i n e maintained t o l l f r e e t e l e p h o n e l i s t i n g s i n major u r b a n c e n t e r s w i t h i n t h e s t a t e ; i t p l a c e d a d v e r t i s e m e n t s i n n a t i o n a l media c i r c u l a - t i n g i n t h e forum s t a t e ; i t s u p p l i e d t r a v e l a g e n t s l o c a t e d i n t h e forum w i t h p r o m o t i o n a l m a t e r i a l s ; i n f r e q u e n t l y i t s e n t i t s employees t o t h e forum s t a t e f o r p u r p o s e s of s e r v i c i n g t h e t r a v e l a g e n t s ; t o t a l d o l l a r volume of t i c k e t s a l e s i n t h e s u b j e c t s t a t e w a s a maximum of $91,529 f o r a t w e l v e month p e r i o d . The a i r l i n e owned no p r o p e r t y w i t h i n t h e s t a t e nor m a i n t a i n e d any o f f i c e s i n t h e s t a t e . under t h e s e f a c t s , t h e F e d e r a l D i s t r i c t C o u r t h e l d t h a t t h e a i r l i n e was p r e s e n t w i t h i n t h e s t a t e f o r p u r p o s e s of c o n f e r r i n g i n personam j u r i s d i c t i o n . The p l a i n t i f f r e l i e s upon North Dakota v . Newberger (1980), 37 St.Rep. 1119, 613 P.2d 1 0 0 2 . S u i t was i n s t i t u t e d a g a i n s t d e f e n d a n t i n t h e Missoula County D i s t r i c t C o u r t . Defendant had promoted a r o c k c o n c e r t a t t h e U n i v e r s i t y of North Dakota, b u t b e c a u s e of i l l n e s s of one of t h e p e r f o r m e r s , f a i l e d t o go ahead w i t h t h e c o n c e r t . An a c t i o n was commenced i n M i s s o u l a , Montana, f o r t h e r e a s o n t h a t d e f e n d a n t w a s engaged i n promoting a s u b s e q u e n t c o n c e r t a t t h e U n i v e r s i t y of Montana and s i n c e d e f e n d a n t had c e r t a i n monies r e s u l t i n g from t h a t promotion, p l a i n t i f f s o u g h t t o i n s t i t u t e t h e a c t i o n i n Missoula f o r p u r p o s e s of a c q u i r i n g c o n t r o l o f those proceeds. The c o u r t i n Newberger a t p. 1123 s a i d : " A p p e l l a n t p u r p o s e l y a v a i l s h i m s e l f of t h e p r i v i l e g e s and b e n e f i t s of t h e laws of t h i s s t a t e by c o n d u c t i n g h i s b u s i n e s s of promot- i n g r o c k c o n c e r t s i n Montana and t h r o u g h o u t t h e Northwest. The r e c o r d r e v e a l s t h a t a p p e l l a n t h a s promoted c o n c e r t s i n Montana p r i o r t o t h e o n e i n Missoula a t which t h e p r o c e e d s were a t t a c h e d . A s p a r t of h i s b u s i - ness transactions, appellant a l s o e n t e r s in- t o c o n t r a c t s f o r s e r v i c e s t o be p r o v i d e d i n this state. I t i s o u t of a s i m i l a r and re- l a t e d c o n t r a c t t h a t respondent's claim f o r r e l i e f o r c o u r s e of a c t i o n a r i s e s . . . Fur- t h e r , a t t h e t i m e of t h i s a c t i o n , a p p e l l a n t was i n p o s s e s s i o n of monies o r p e r s o n a l p r o p e r t y i n t h i s s t a t e which were a l l e g e d t o have r i g h t f u l l y belonged t o r e s p o n d e n t . I t w a s f o r t h i s reason t h a t respondent chose t o f i l e t h i s a c t i o n i n Missoula. " I t appears, therefore, t h a t appellant has 'minimum c o n t a c t s ' w i t h t h i s s t a t e ; a p p e l l a n t was found i n Montana, t r a n s a c t s b u s i n e s s i n Montana, had a n i n t e r e s t i n p r o c e e d s i n Mon- t a n a which w e r e a t t a c h e d , and c o n t r a c t s f o r s e r v i c e s t o b e p r o v i d e d i n Montana. The f a c t s of t h i s c a s e s a t i s f y t h e r e q u i r e m e n t s of Rule 4B (1)( a ) , ( c ) and ( e ) , M.R.Civ.P." The r e c o r d shows t h a t t h e d e f e n d a n t i n Newberger m a i n t a i n e d h i s business i n California. However, a s i n d i c a t e d i n t h e f a c t s d e s c r i b e d a b o v e , Newberger had p h y s i c a l p r e s e n c e i n Montana d i f f e r e n t from t h a t found i n t h e c a s e b e f o r e u s . F u r t h e r m o r e , t h e l a n g u a g e i n Newberger i s d i c t u m a s t h e c o u r t s a i d a t p. 1123: " I n any e v e n t a p p e l l a n t through h i s counsel appeared without o b j e c t i o n t o j u r i s d i c t i o n over h i s person. H e t h e r e b y waived any ob- j e c t i o n u n d e r r u l e 1 2 , M.R.Civ.P." T h e r e i s no c o n t e n t i o n t h a t t r a d i t i o n a l c o n c e p t s o f " d u e p r o c e s s " a r e o f f e n d e d by t h e a s s e r t i o n of j u r i s d i c t i o n here. The d u e p r o c e s s r e q u i r e m e n t s a r t i c u l a t e d i n I n t e r n a t i o n a l Shoe Co. v . S t a t e o f Washington ( 1 9 4 5 ) , 326 U.S. 310, 6 6 S.Ct. 1 5 4 , 90 L.Ed. 95, a r e s a t i s f i e d . The q u e s t i o n h e r e i s w h e t h e r d e f e n d a n t ' s a c t i v i t i e s a r e s o s u b s t a n t i a l , c o n t i n u o u s , and s y s t e m a t i c t h a t t h e y c o n s t i t u t e a p h y s i c a l p r e s e n c e w i t h i n t h e S t a t e of Montana. W e hold t h a t u n d e r t h e f a c t s i n t h i s r e c o r d t h e d e f e n d a n t , American A i r l i n e s , was " f o u n d i n Montana" f o r p u r p o s e s o f c o n f e r r i n g i n personam j u r i s d i c t i o n upon t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s D i s t r i c t C o u r t f o r t h e D i s t r i c t of Montana. W e f e e l t h a t such holding c o m p o r t s w i t h t h e t r e n d o f a u t h o r i t y and w i t h t h e s p i r i t o f R u l e 4B (1) . W e Concur: Chief J u s t i c e A 5 Mr. Justice Gene B. Daly dissenting: I respectfully dissent from the majority opinion. Under the law presently in effect in Montana, Ameri- can Airlines ( A A ) cannot be considered "found within" Montana and therefore cannot be subject to the in personam jurisdiction of this State. It is important, in the first instance, to emphasize the special facts of this case. The plaintiff flew from Montana to New York City on Northwest Airlines. he planned to transfer to British Airways and continue to Nepal. While at the New York airport, plaintiff alleges that somehow AA came into possession of his camera case, refused to give it back to him upon request, and insulted him. The plaintiff had not traveled on AA; there was no privity of contract between them. The plaintiff Is claim of relief, therefore, is in no way related to AA's contacts with this state. The issue here is how to interpret the words "found within" as they are used in Rule 4B, M.R.Civ.P. The perti- nent part of Rule 4B reads: "All persons found within the state of Montana are subject to the jurisdiction of the courts of this state." The remaining lettered subdivisions of Rule 4B are not applicable here since they apply only when a plaintiff's claim of relief arises out of the activities of the nonresident defendant in the forum state. While this Court has extended in personam jurisdiction over nonresident defendants to its constitutional limits under the lettered subdivisions of Rule 4B, Prentice Lumber v. Spahn (1970), 156 Mont. 68, 474 P.2d 141, we have never done so under the first sentence of Rule 4B. But, we have applied the "two-step" test. The effect of the majority opinion is to institute a change in the existing law by extending jurisdiction under "found within" to that allowable under due process and reducing the l.aw to a one- step test. By this expansion of jurisdiction, the majority has ignored both the importance of the words "found within" and the two-step test we have used for determining in personam jurisdiction. The well.-established two-step test for interpreting Rule 4B provides that the court must, as a first step, look to whether the statute provides for the exercise of juris- diction under the particular facts of the case, and applying the second step, the court must determine whether it would offend due process to assert jurisdiction. State of North Dakota v. Newberger (1980), Mont. , 613 P.2d 1002, 1004, 37 St.Rep. 11-19, 11.21; May v. Figgins (1980), - Mont. -, 607 P.2d 1132, 1134, 37 St.Rep. 493, 495, quoting 2 Moore's Federal. Practice q14.41-l[l] at 4-421. The first question here, then, is whether AA is "found within" the State of Montana, and the second question is whether the assertion of jurisdiction offends due process --that is, the "traditional notions of fair play and sub- stantial justice." International Shoe v. Washington (1945), 326 U.S. 310, 31.6, 66 S.Ct. 154, 158, 90 L.Ed. 95, 102, quoting Pllillikin v. Meyer (1940), 311 U.S. 457, 463, 61 S.Ct. 339, 343, 85 L.Ed. 278, 283. It is important to note at this point that the "minimum contacts" test of International Shoe and its progeny is used only to determine whether due process has been offended. The majority has meshed this two-step test into one step by looking only to whether the traditional notions of "due process" are offended by asserting jurisdiction here. The effect of its ruling is that "found within" must be interpreted, in the first instance, in terms of the most liberal constructions allowed to the "minimum contacts" test. The major problem of applying the more liberal "minimum contacts" test, in the first instance, is the fact that there is no connection between plaintiff's claim of relief and AA's contacts with this state. Plaintiff did not buy a ticket to fly on AA and had no contact with AA prior to the alleged conversion of his camera case in New York. If he had bought a ticket from AA, it may have been possib1.e to apply the more liberal "minimum contacts" interpretation to subdivision (a) of Rule 4~$j\"transactingbusiness." In Newberger this Court acknowledged that jurisdic- tion over a nonresident defendant may be asserted even though the cause of action did not arise out of the defendant's contacts with the forum state. Neverthel.ess, both this Court and the United States Supreme Court have recognized that, "[tlhe contacts required upon which to base jurisdiction, consistent with due process, would be greater where the action is brouqht upon a claim not arising from these contacts with the state, than where the action does arise from the state's contacts." (Emphasis added.) May_, supra, 607 P.2d at 1137, quoting 2 Moore's Federal Practice 714.41-1[1] at 4-414; International Shoe, 326 U.S. at 317- 318. The majority has ignored the case law that sets a restrictive test for personal jurisdiction when the claim of relief does not arise from the nonresident's contacts with this state. By ignoring this case law, the lnajority has failed to recognize the true issue of this case: how much more "sub- stantial, continuous and systematic" must the nonresident's activity be under "found within" than under the lettered subdivisions of Rule 4B. The majority relies upon two cases, Gullett v. Qantas Airways Ltd. (M.D. Tenn. 1975), 417 F.Supp. 490, and Ladd v. KLM Royal Dutch Airlines (S.D. N.Y. 1978), 456 F.Supp. 422, to support its conclusion that AA has sufficient contacts with this state to support the assertion of in personam jurisdiction. The precedential value of these cases is highly questionable here. In Gullett the plaintiffs had a contractual relationship with Qantas Airways that gave rise to the claim of relief, and in Ladd the New York federal court was construing a Tennessee statute which provided for the exercise of in personam jurisdiction over any person on " [a]ny basis not inconsistent with the Constitution of this State or the United States." TCA S20-235(f). Here, there is no contractual relationship between the parties, and we are not dealing with statutory language in any way similar to Tennessee's statute, Tennessee being a typical one-step state. Only two cases give any guidance for the interpreta- tion of "found within" as it is used in Rule 4B. McIntosh v. Heil Company (D. Mont. 1972), 350 F.Supp. 866, speaks directly to this point; and Newberger, 613 P.2d at 1.005, speaks only indirectly. In Heil, the nonresident corporation advertised in Montana, sent agents into Montana to bid on municipal contracts, and distributed products through a distributor located in Billings. The corporation had no registered agent in Montana, owned no property, and maintained no office. Most importantly, the pl.aintiffls claim of relief arose out of the use of one of the corporation's trucks in wyoming, so there was no connection between the claim for relief and the corporation's contacts with Montana. The sole question was whether the corporation was "found within" Montana. In reasoning that "found within" must be distin- guished from the test of minimum contacts and transacting business, the District Court in Heil said:- "In People's Tobacco Company, Ltd. v. Ameri- can Tobacco Co., 246 U.S. 79, 38 S.Ct. 233, 62 L.Ed.587 (1918), the Supreme Court said that 'to be found' within a district a cor- poration must be present in the district by its officers and agents carrying on the busi- ness of the corporation. In United States v. Scophony Corp. of America, 333 U.S. 795, 68 S.Ct. 855, 92 L.Ed. 1091 (1948), the Supreme Court said that t.he word 'found' denoted the concept of 'carrying on business' and that the words 'transact business' had a meaning broader than the words 'carrying on busi- ness. ' The words ' found, ' 'doing business, ' 'transaction of any business' were at the time the Montana rules were adopted words of art the meanings of which were known to the bench and bar. The scholarly committee draft- ing the Montana rules used these words, and it is apparent that they were used as words of art. The all-encompassing phrase 'the transaction of any business' was used to pro- vide a maximum protection to persons injured by reason of activity in Montana. As to those actions arising in other jurisdictions or torts accruinq in other jurisdictions the --------- used the more restrictive words committee 'found within.'-(~rn~hasis -- -- added.) 350 F.Supp. at 868. 'The court in - Heil then went on to put its own limitations on the words "found within": "A corporation is not 'found within the state - Montana'w hunless oite has magents ore officers of here uEqn------ m E ---------y-------------- o r c ss a be s r v e d or - - - unless its business has been of such charac- ter and extent as to warrant the inference -- that it has subjected itself- the juris- to- diction of the state. It is aenerallv held - -.' 2 that such an inference cannot arise where a corporation merely sol icits for business and ships its products into the state and occa- sionally sends an officer or agent into the state for solicitation purposes. [Citations omitted.]" (Emphasis added.) 350 F.Supp. at 868-869. The plaintiff argues that Newberger is the main controlling authority. In Newberger this Court found that the defendant was "found within" this state. The defendant's contacts with this state in Newberger, however, were much more substantial. than those of AA in this case. In Newberger, the defendant was "found within" Montana because of the following activity: "The record reveals that appellant has pro- moted concerts in Montana prior to the one in Missoula at which the proceeds were attached. As part of his business transactions, appel- lant also enters into contracts for services to be provided in this state. It is out of a similar and related contract that respon- dent's claim for relief or course of action arises. The basis of respondent's claim is, therefore, not totally unrelated to or dis- tinct from the activities of appellant in this state. Further, at the time of this action, appellant was in possession of monies or personal property in this state which were alleged to have rightfully belonged to respondent . . ." 613 P.2d at 1005. Most importantly, the nonresident defendant was actually present in Missou1.a at the time the action was commenced. The acts of solicitation by AA are clearly less substantial than those contacts of the nonresident defendant in Newberqer. Given the higher degree of "substantial" and "con- tinuous and systematic" activity necessary for a nonresident corporation to be "found within" this state, it seems that the acts of mere solicitation are not sufficient. While International Shoe clearly held that mere solicitation would be enough to satisfy "presence" for due process purposes, or the one-step type of test, that is not what we are concerned with here. It was recognized in International Shoe, itself, that where the claim of relief is not connected with the nonresident corporation's activity in a forum state, the extent and quality of corporate contacts must be greater. International Shoe, 326 U.S. at 317-318; see also prior reference to x, P.2d 607 at 1137. Given this greater standard of "found within," mere solicitation does not constitute the "substantial" activity necessary to find in personam jurisdiction where the claim of rel-ief is in no way connected to the solicitation in the forum state. I would, therefore, dismiss this case on the grounds that AA is not subject to the in personam jurisdic- tion of the State of Montana. I concur in the foregoing dissent. m--&k$sade Chief Justice