WIGINtti 

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF MONTANA 

OP 24-0061 

MAY 2 1 2024 

SOUTHWEST DISTRIBUTING CO., 

d/b/a SWD URETHANE, 

Petitioner, 

v. 

MONTANA NINETEENTH JUDICIAL 

DISTRICT COURT, LINCOLN COUNTY, 

HON. MATTHEW J. CUFFE, Presiding Judge, 

Respondent. 

Bowen C3teenwood 

Ci.,,rfc of 

Supreme Court 

Stu- ta ot tv:ontorla 

ORDER 

Petitioner Southwest Distributing Co., d/b/a SWD Urethane (Southwest) seeks a writ 

of supervisory control over the Montana Nineteenth Judicial District Court in Cause No. 

DV-22-72 to reverse that court's November 21, 2023 Opinion and Order Re: Motion to 

Dismiss for Lack of Personal Jurisdiction that denied Southwest's motion to dismiss. 

Southwest maintains the District Court erred in concluding it could exercise personal 

jurisdiction over Southwest pursuant to M. R. Civ. P. 4(b)(1). 

On February 8, 2024, this Court requested responses to Southwest's petition. The 

Court subsequently requested that Southwest file a reply brief and Southwest did so on May 8, 

2024. 

After this Court requested a reply brief, Southwest requested that this Court stay the 

underlying litigation, as provided for by M. R. App. P. 14(7)(c). Southwest alleges that if the 

District Court case is not stayed, it will be required to continue to defend while its petition for 

writ of supervisory control is considered by this Court. Southwest advises us that, since the 

District Court issued the order at issue, Southwest has responded to three sets of written 

discovery requests and that it anticipates more discovery requests on it are forthcoming. 

Deposition requests for current and former Southwest employees are pending, and various 

deadlines are approaching under the District Court's scheduling order, the soonest being 

05/21/2024

Case Number: OP 24-0061
Southwest's expert disclosure, which is due on July 31, 2024. Southwest argues that a stay is 

warranted because it will be relieved of its costly discovery efforts and pre-trial preparation 

if this Court reverses the District Court's order denying Southwest's motion to dismiss. 

North Idaho Insulation ("NII"), the third-party plaintiff in the underlying District Court 

case, objects to Southwest's motion to stay. NII argues that Southwest's discovery burdens 

will remain the same regardless of the outcome of this petition because Southwest is the sole 

source of highly relevant information and the parties will seek that information via subpoenas 

if Southwest is ultimately dismissed from this case. NII further asserts that Donald Fleming, 

the plaintiff in the underlying case, has a rnotion to amend the scheduling deadline pending 

in the District Court which, if granted, will reset Southwest's expert deadline to November 29, 

2024. 

Although Fleming's pending motion, if granted, will extend Southwest's expert 

deadline, we are cognizant that, if a stay is not issued, Southwest will be forced to defend in 

the underlying lawsuit while the question of personal jurisdiction remains at issue. M. R. 

App. P. 14(7)(c) provides that this Court may order a stay of further proceedings in the other 

court pending our resolution of a petition for supervisory control. We find it appropriate to 

do so here. 

IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED that the proceedings in Cause No. DV-22-72 in the 

Nineteenth Judicial District Court are STAYED pending this Court's decision on the Petition. 

The Clerk is directed to provide immediate notice of this Order to counsel for 

Petitioner, all counsel ofrecord in the Nineteenth Judicial District Court Cause No. DV-22-72, 

and to the Honorable Matthew J. Cuffe, presiding District Judge. 

DATED this "LI, day of May, 2024. 

izei);,#)9 Chief Justice 

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