Dougan v. Minton
Dougan v. Minton
Opinion of the Court
MEMORANDUM DECISION AND ORDER DENYING MOTION TO DISMISS
Defendant Mark S. Minton’s (Minton) filed a Motion to Dismiss.
Introduction
Plaintiff Diana Dougan and her husband Mr. Dougan are Utah residents and are the parents of Elena L. Minton (Ms. Min-ton), wife of Defendant Mark S. Minton.
In 2009, the parties began renegotiating the Note.
In August of 2011, Mr. and Mrs. Dougan sent a demand letter to Mr. and Ms. Min-ton requesting that the New Note be paid pursuant to its terms.
Discussion
“The plaintiff bears the burden of establishing personal jurisdiction over the defendant. Prior to trial, however, when a motion to dismiss for lack of jurisdiction is decided on the basis of affidavits and other written materials, the plaintiff need only make a prima facie showing.”
To obtain personal jurisdiction over a defendant in Utah, the defendant must have “minimum contacts” with Utah.
Specific Jurisdiction
“Whether a federal court has personal jurisdiction over a nonresident defendant in a diversity action is determined by the law of the forum state.”
In Utah, the specific jurisdiction inquiry involves a two-part test:
1. Mrs. Dougan’s Claims Arise from One of the Activities Listed in Utah’s Long-Arm Statute
Under Utah’s long-arm statute, transacting business in Utah or causing tortious injury in Utah give rise to specific jurisdiction in Utah.
Transacting Business in Utah
Mrs. Dougan alleges that Mr. Minton “transacted business within this state” by negotiating the terms of the Note and procuring the Note.
The Utah Code broadly defines “transaction of business within this state” as the “activities of a nonresident person, his agents, or representatives in this state, which affect persons or businesses within the state.”
In SII MegaDiamond,
Like ASC’s actions, Mr. Minton’s actions were “purposefully directed” at and “affected” residents of Utah. Mr. Min-ton physically entered the state to negotiate the terms of the contract, made phone calls, sent emails, and sent payments to Utah in accordance with the contract. Such activities were not “random, fortuitous, or attenuated.”
Mr. Minton also appears to argue that financial injury alone is insufficient to establish personal jurisdiction.
2. Mr. Minton’s Contacts with Utah Are Sufficient to Satisfy the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment
“It is well established that jurisdiction must result from minimum contacts with the forum state such that the maintenance of the suit does not offend tradition
In Hafen v. Strebeck, Sid Strebeck, a New Mexico resident, owed John Hafen, a Utah resident, approximately $188,000.00.
Like Strebeck, Mr. Minton communicated with Utah residents by phone and by mail. Mr. Minton also traveled to Utah and sent emails to Utah. He also sent payments to Utah on a fairly regular basis. Thus, jurisdiction over Mr. Minton in Utah “comports with traditional notions of fair play and substantial justice” because the claims at issue arose directly from Mr. Minton’s communications with Mr. and Mrs. Dougan in Utah and there would be no cause of action “[b]ut for the fact of [Mr. Minton]’s representations.”
Because both parts of the specific jurisdiction test are met, jurisdiction is proper in Utah. Mrs. Dougan has carried her burden of establishing personal jurisdiction over Mr. Minton by establishing a prima facie case of personal jurisdiction.
ORDER
For the foregoing reasons, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that Defendant’s Motion to Dismiss
. Motion to Dismiss, docket no. 3, filed January 5, 2012.
. Plaintiff's Memorandum in Opposition to Defendant’s Motion to Dismiss (Memorandum in Opposition) at ii, docket no. 10, filed February 3, 2012.
. Memorandum in Opposition at ii-iii.
. Id. at ii.
. Id. at iii.
. Id.
. Id.
. Id. at iii-iv.
. Id. at iv.
. Id.
. Id. at iv-v.
. Id. atv.
. Id.
. Id.
. Motion to Dismiss at 1.
. Behagen v. Amateur Basketball Ass'n of U.S.A., 744 F.2d 731, 733 (10th Cir. 1984) (citations omitted).
. Rombo v. Am. S. Ins. Co., 839 F.2d 1415, 1417 (10th Cir. 1988) (internal citations omitted).
. Bell Helicopter Textron, Inc. v. Heliqwest Int’l, Ltd., 385 F.3d 1291, 1295 (10th Cir. 2004).
. See id. at 1296 (quoting Helicopteros Nacionales de Colombia, S.A. v. Hall, 466 U.S. 408, 414-15, 104 S.Ct. 1868, 80 L.Ed.2d 404 (1984) and Burger King v. Rudzewicz, 471 U.S. 462, 472-73, 105 S.Ct. 2174, 85 L.Ed.2d 528 (1985) ).
. Memorandum in Opposition at 1.
. See Pohl, Inc. of Am. v. Webelhuth, 201 P.3d 944 (Utah 2008).
. Rombo, 839 F.2d at 1416.
. See Bell Helicopter, 385 F.3d at 1296 (applying Utah law) (quoting Burger King, 471 U.S. at 472-73, 105 S.Ct. 2174).
. Bell Helicopter, 385 F.3d at 1296 (citation omitted).
. Id. (quoting Burger King, 471 U.S. at 475, 105 S.Ct. 2174).
. The Utah Supreme Court unequivocally rejected all other tests in D.A. v. State (In re W.A.), 63 P.3d 607, 612 (Utah 2002):
The proper test to be applied ... involves two considerations. First, the court must assess whether Utah law confers personal jurisdiction over the nonresident defendant. This means that a court may rely on any Utah statute affording it personal jurisdiction, not just Utah’s long-arm statute. Second, assuming Utah law confers personal jurisdiction over the nonresident defendant, the court must assess whether an assertion*1215 of jurisdiction comports with the due process requirements of the Fourteenth Amendment.
Id. (emphasis omitted); see also Pohl, 201 P.3d at 950 (applying two-part test).
. See Pohl, 201 P.3d at 950.
. See Utah Code Ann. § 78B-3-205 (2011). The statute in its entirety provides:
Notwithstanding Section 16-10a-1501, any person or personal representative of the person, whether or not a citizen or resident of this state, who, in person or through an agent, does any of the following enumerated acts is subject to the jurisdiction of the courts of this state as to any claim arising out of or related to:
(1) the transaction of any business within this state;
(2) contracting to supply services or goods in this state;
(3) the causing of any injury within this state whether tortious or by breach of warranty;
(4) the ownership, use, or possession of any real estate situated in this state;
(5) contracting to insure any person, property, or risk located within this state at the time of contracting;
(6) with respect to actions of divorce, separate maintenance, or child support, having resided, in the marital relationship, within this state notwithstanding subsequent departure from the state; or the commission in this state of the act giving rise to the claim, so long as that act is not a mere omission, failure to act, or occurrence over which the defendant had no control; or (7) the commission of sexual intercourse within this state which gives rise to a paternity suit under Title 78B, Chapter 15, Utah Uniform Parentage Act, to determine paternity for the purpose of establishing responsibility for child support.
. See Memorandum in Opposition at 3.
. Id.
. Memorandum in Support of Motion to Dismiss (Memorandum in Support) at 5-6, docket no. 4, filed January 5, 2012.
. Utah Code Ann. § 78B-3-202(2); see also Pohl, 201 P.3d at 952 (explaining legislature’s interpretation).
. Hafen v. Strebeck, 338 F. Supp 2d 1257, 1260 (D.Utah 2004) (quoting Nova Mud Corp. v. Fletcher, 648 F.Supp. 1123, 1126 (D.Utah 1986)).
. Hafen, 338 F.Supp.2d at 1260 (quoting UTAH CODE ANN. § 78-27-22).
. SII MegaDiamond, Inc. v. Am. Superabrasives Corp., 969 P.2d 430 (Utah 1998).
. Id. at 432.
. Id.
. Id. at 433.
. Id. at 435.
. Id.
. Id. at 434.
. See Bell Helicopter, 385 F.3d at 1296 (quoting Burger King, 471 U.S. at 475, 105 S.Ct. 2174).
. Memorandum in Support at 6.
. Pohl, 201 P.3dat951.
. Id. at 950.
. See Pohl, 201 P.3d at 950-52.
. SII MegaDiamond, 969 P.2d at 435 (internal quotations omitted).
. Far West Capital, Inc. v. Towne, 46 F.3d 1071, 1077 (10th Cir. 1995).
. Rambo, 839 F.2d at 1418 (quoting Burger King, 471 U.S. at 475 n. 18, 105 S.Ct. 2174).
. Rambo, 839 F.2d at 1418.
. 338 F.Supp.2d at 1258.
. Id. at 1259.
. Id.
. Id.
. Id. at 1261.
. Id. at 1263.
. Id.
. Id.
. Motion to Dismiss, docket no. 3, filed January 5, 2012.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Diana L. DOUGAN v. Mark S. MINTON
- Cited By
- 1 case
- Status
- Published