Source: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-cand-4_18-cv-01435/USCOURTS-cand-4_18-cv-01435-0/pdf.json

Nature of Suit Code: 190
Nature of Suit: Other Contract Actions
Cause of Action: 28:1332 Diversity-Contract Dispute

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United States District Court

Northern District of California

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

INDEPENDENT ELECTRIC SUPPLY 

INC.,

Plaintiff,

v.

SOLAR INSTALLS, INC., et al.,

Defendants.

Case No. 18-cv-01435-KAW 

ORDER REQUIRING SUPPLEMENTAL 

BRIEFING

Re: Dkt. No. 11

On April 2, 2018, Defendants filed a motion to dismiss the case pursuant to Federal Rule 

of Civil Procedure 12(b)(2) and for forum non conveniens, or, in the alternative, to transfer venue. 

Having reviewed the parties' papers, the Court requires supplemental briefing regarding whether 

personal jurisdiction exists as to Defendants Clear Solar and Paul Southam.

(1) Can personal jurisdiction be established solely based on Defendants Clear Solar's 

and Paul Southam's failure to pay for the materials purchased by Defendant Solar Installs? Cf. 

FDIC v. British American Ins. Co., 828 F.2d 1439, 1443 (9th Cir. 1987) ("the receipt of payment 

alone for services rendered outside the forum state is not sufficient to support personal 

jurisdiction"). 

(2) Plaintiff argues that Defendant Clear Solar has contacts including ordering 

materials from Plaintiff and advertising in California, while Defendant Paul Southam is the 

president of ClearSolar CA, a California corporation that is not a party to this case.1 How do the 

 

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Plaintiff also suggests that Clear Solar maintains a California corporation (ClearSolar CA) with 

headquarters in Ripon, California. (Plf.'s Opp'n at 13, Dkt. No. 15.) The Statement of Information 

for this corporation, however, does not indicate that there is any connection to Defendant Clear 

Solar. (Request for Judicial Notice, Exh. A, Dkt. No. 16.) Moreover, it is not clear how the 

existence of this corporation is relevant to the claims pled in this case. 

Case 4:18-cv-01435-KAW Document 25 Filed 06/01/18 Page 1 of 2
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United States District Court

Northern District of California

causes of action in the instant case arise from these contacts? Other than these contacts and the 

alleged failure to pay for the materials purchased by Defendant Solar Installs, what contacts do 

Defendants Clear Solar and Paul Southam have with this forum, and are they sufficient to 

establish personal jurisdiction?

(3) Plaintiff appears to argue that "adherence to the fiction of the separate existence of 

Solar Installs as an entity distinct from Clear Solar and Paul and David Southam would permit an 

abuse of the privilege of incorporation and would sanction fraud and/or promote injustice . . . ." 

(Plf.'s Opp'n at 10, Dkt. No. 15.) What authority is Plaintiff relying on for this argument? Is 

Plaintiff suggesting that the Court should impute Defendant Solar Installs's contacts to the 

remaining Defendants, and if so, under what theory? See Stewart v. Screen Gems-Emi Music, Inc., 

81 F. Supp. 3d 938, 954 (N.D. Cal. 2015) ("Courts have found in certain contexts that when one 

business entity is the alter ego or is part of a single enterprise with another entity, the entity's 

contacts in the forum should be imputed onto the affiliated entities").

The parties are directed to file a joint brief, setting forth their respective positions on these 

issues, by June 22, 2018. The parties shall include citations to the relevant case law in support of 

their arguments. The joint brief shall be no more than ten pages. The hearing is continued to July 

5, 2018 at 1:30 p.m.

IT IS SO ORDERED.

Dated: June 1, 2018

__________________________________

KANDIS A. WESTMORE

United States Magistrate Judge

Case 4:18-cv-01435-KAW Document 25 Filed 06/01/18 Page 2 of 2