National Corporate Housing, Inc. v. Ayres et al

Filing 22

MEMORANDUM OPINION Re: 6 MOTION to Dismiss for Lack of Jurisdiction by Diane L. Ayres, Janet M. Zamecnik. Signed by District Judge Anthony J Trenga on 3/28/2012. (stas)

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF VIRGINIA
Alexandria Division

NATIONAL CORPORATE

HOUSING, INC.,

Plaintiff,
No. l:ll-cv-1391(AJT-TCB)
DIANE L. AYRES and JANET

M. ZAMECNIK,
Defendants.

MEMORANDUM OPINION

In June 2011, Defendants Diane L. Ayres ("Ayres") and Janet M. Zamecnik
("Zamecnik") (collectively, "Defendants") were working in Ohio when they learned that their
then-employer, Equity Corporate Housing, Inc. ("Equity"), an Ohio-based company, had been

sold to plaintiff National Corporate Housing, Inc. ("NCH"), a company with its principal place
of business in Virginia. Neither Defendant had played any role in soliciting, negotiating or
approving that business transaction. Following that purchase, Defendants agreed to work for

NCH in Ohio (without any written employment agreements) essentially to continue doing for
NCH what they were doing for Equity. During the course of the approximately six months that

Defendants were NCH employees, they never travelled to Virginia, but in order to performthe
duties of their employment, did on various occasions communicate with NCH employees located

in Virginia as well as some NCH customers and vendors located in Virginia. They also utilized
NCH's Virginia-based computer network and other of NCH's Virginia-based support services.
In early December 2011, Defendants terminated their employment with NCH; and on

December 23,2011, NCH filed in this Court a fourteen count complaintagainst them, alleging

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