Denton v. Air & Liquid Systems Corporation et al
Filing
1444
ORDER. The Court GRANTS DuPont's Motion to Dismiss for Lack of Personal Jurisdiction (Doc. 1157) and DISMISSES Plaintiff's claims against DuPont without prejudice. Signed by Judge Staci M. Yandle on 2/17/15. (ajr)
IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF ILLINOIS
BILLIE DENTON, Individually and as Special
Administrator for the Estate of ROBERT F.
DENTON, Deceased,
Plaintiff,
Case No. 13-cv-1243-SMY-DGW
vs.
AIR & LIQUID SYSTEMS
CORPORATIONS, et al.,
Defendants.
MEMORANDUM AND ORDER
This matter comes before the Court on defendant E.I. DuPont De Menours Company’s
(“DuPont”) Motion to Dismiss for Lack of Personal Jurisdiction (Doc. 1157) to which Plaintiff
Billie Denton has responded (Doc. 1157). For the following reasons, the Court grants the
motion.
Plaintiff alleges decedent Robert F. Denton (“Decedent”) was exposed to and inhaled,
ingested or otherwise absorbed large amounts of asbestos fibers from products manufactured,
sold, distributed, or installed by DuPont. Plaintiff further alleges Decedent was exposed to
asbestos fibers through products he worked with or around while he worked at a DuPont
premises in Pasadena, Texas. Plaintiff alleges no facts indicating Decedent’s injuries arose from
DuPont’s activities in Illinois. DuPont filed the instant motion to dismiss pursuant to Federal
Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(2) arguing this Court does not have personal jurisdiction over
DuPont.
Plaintiff concedes that Decedent did not work at a DuPont location in Illinois. Plaintiff,
however, argues that this Court has jurisdiction over DuPont because of its “substantial,
continuous, and systematic contacts” with Illinois which includes distribution centers in several
Illinois locations. Plaintiff further argues that jurisdiction exists because “DuPont is a global
leader in the manufacturing and supplying of chemicals, plastics, and other petrochemical
products,” and it “does substantial business in Illinois” (Doc. 1202, p. 1).
Here, because no material facts are in dispute, the Court may rule on Defendant’s motion
absent an evidentiary hearing. See Hyatt Int’l Corp. v. Coco, 302 F.3d 707, 712-13 (7th Cir.
2002). Where a court rules on a Rule 12(b)(2) motion on paper, the plaintiff “need only make
out a prima facie case of personal jurisdiction.” Id. at 713.
In diversity cases, a district court has personal jurisdiction over a defendant “who is
subject to the jurisdiction of a court of general jurisdiction in the state where the district court is
located.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 4(k)(1)(A). Illinois’ long-arm statute allows the exercise of jurisdiction
to the full extent permitted under the Due Process Clause. Tamburo v. Dworkin, 601 F.3d 693,
700 (7th Cir. 2010). Accordingly, a district court sitting in Illinois must inquire whether the
“defendant has certain minimum contact with [the State] such that the maintenance of the suit
does not offend ‘traditional notions of fair play and substantial justice.’” Daimler AG v.
Bauman, 134 S. Ct. 746, 754 (2014) (quoting Goodyear Dunlop Tires Operations, S.A. v. Brown,
131 S. Ct. 2846, 2853 (2011)). Personal jurisdiction may be either specific or general. Daimler
AG, 134 S. Ct. at 701-03.
Specific jurisdiction arises where an out-of-state “defendant has ‘purposefully directed’
his activities at residents of the forum, Keeton v. Hustler Magazine, Inc., 465 U.S. 770, 774
(1984), and the litigation results from alleged injuries that ‘arise out of or relate to those
activities’ Helicopteros Nacionales de Colombia, S.A. v. Hall, 466 U.S. 408, 414 (1984).”
Burger King Corp. v. Rudzewicz, 471 U.S. 462, 472-73 (1985). Here, Plaintiff concedes that
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Decedent’s alleged injuries do not arise out of or relate to DuPont’s contacts with Illinois. As
such, this Court lacks specific personal jurisdiction over Plaintiff’s claims against DuPont.
General jurisdiction arises over a foreign corporation “when their affiliations with the
State are so ‘continuous and systematic’ as to render them essentially at home in the forum
State.” Goodyear, 131 S. Ct. at 2851. With respect to a corporation, the place of incorporation
and principal place of business are ‘paradig[m] . . . bases for general jurisdiction.” Daimler AG,
134 S. Ct. at 760 (quoting Brilmayer et al, A General Look at General Jurisdiction, 66 Texas L.
Rev. 721, 735 (1988)). A foreign corporation, however, may be “at home in the forum State”
where its “continuous corporate operations within a state [are] so substantial and of such a nature
as to justify suit.” International Shoe Co. v. Washington, 326 U.S. 310, 318 (1945)); see also
Perkins v. Benguiet Consol. Mining Co., 342 U.S. 437 (1952) (general jurisdiction appropriate in
Ohio over Philippine corporation where the company’s affairs were overseen in Ohio during the
war).
Here, DuPont is not incorporated in Illinois (Doc. 1157-1). Neither does it maintain its
principal place of business in Illinois (Doc. 1157-1). Further, Plaintiff has provided no facts
which would indicate that DuPont’s affiliation with Illinois is “so continuous and systematic as
to render” DuPont at home in Illinois. DuPont undoubtedly has several facilities in Illinois;
however, the Supreme Court has made it clear that the mere presence of a defendant in the forum
does not subject it to all-purpose jurisdiction in that forum. See Daimler AG, 134 S. Ct. at 752,
762 (finding no general jurisdiction over a foreign corporation where subsidiary, whose actions
were assumed attributable to the corporation, had multiple facilities and a regional office in the
forum state). Accordingly, Plaintiff has failed to make out a prima facie case of personal
jurisdiction.
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For the foregoing reasons, the Court GRANTS DuPont’s Motion to Dismiss for Lack of
Personal Jurisdiction (Doc. 1157) and DISMISSES Plaintiff’s claims against DuPont without
prejudice.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
DATED: February 17, 2015
s/ Staci M. Yandle
STACI M. YANDLE
DISTRICT JUDGE
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