Opinion ID: 74678
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Federal Due Process Considerations

Text: Regardless of plaintiff meeting the first part of the Court's inquiry into the existence of personal jurisdiction, the Court must now conduct a completely different analysis regarding minimum contacts and due process considerations. There are three considerations under the due process clause: (1) purposeful availment of the forum state; (2) the cause of action arises out of the activities of which you purposefully availed yourself, i.e., the contacts must proximately result from actions by the defendant himself that create a substantial connection with the forum state, Burger King v. Rudzewicz, 471 U.S. 462, 475, 105 S.Ct. 2174, 2183, 85 L.Ed.2d 528 (1985) (quoting McGee v. International Life Ins. Co., 355 U.S. 220, 223, 78 S.Ct. 199, 201, 2 L.Ed.2d 223 (1957)), and (3) reasonable foreseeability that  '[a defendant] should reasonably anticipate being haled into court there.'  Burger King, 471 U.S. at 474, 105 S.Ct. 2174 (quoting World-Wide Volkswagen v. Woodson, 444 U.S. 286, 297, 100 S.Ct. 559, 62 L.Ed.2d 490 (1980)). Plaintiff relies heavily on Future Tech. Int'l, Inc. v. Tae II Media, Ltd., 944 F.Supp. 1538 (S.D.Fla.1996) however, the Court finds Future Tech to be distinguishable on its facts. In Future Tech, the defendant (manufacturer) allegedly conspired against the plaintiff (distributor) to, inter alia, undermine a foreign trade market by soliciting clients away from the plaintiff, breach the manufacturing agreement before it was signed and wrongfully withhold products for distribution. The court found defendant, Tae II, to have established sufficient contacts with Florida to satisfy the due process considerations of the fourteenth amendment.4 Defendant Tae II made six trips to Miami within one year, and attended three business meetings during those six trips; the Court characterized the business relationship as involving numerous transactions...not tied to an isolated, short-term arrangement. Future Tech, 944 F.Supp. at 1558. In contrast, the facts of this case include a single telephone call, by the buyer of a service upon the advice of another. See, Alan Richard Textiles, Ltd. v. Vertilux, Inc., 627 So.2d 529, 530 (Fla. 3d DCA 1993)(repeated orders from a N.Y. company to Florida did not constitute minimum contacts when the purchaser of goods had no office/did no business in, had no other presence in Florida.) The contract called 4 Notably, the Tae II defendants also satisfied the Florida long-arm statute under the provision dealing with operating, conducting, engaging in, or carrying on a business [in Florida], a provision which the plaintiff in this case concedes it is not arguing. Fn. 2, supra. for work to be performed in converting computer files and although the work could have been performed anywhere, the buyer didn't care where, the seller chose to perform the work from its facility in Florida. The contract was for a one-time service, as opposed to a continuous business relationship extending beyond the remediation work. The information to be converted was transmitted over high speed communications lines; there were no sales over the internet or email. All contract negotiations took place by telephone; the contract was signed by the defendant in Illinois after at least two visits to that state by the plaintiff; the defendant never came to Florida until after the purported initial breach. By all accounts, the defendant did not reasonably anticipate being haled into a Florida court. As to whether the forum would comport with traditional notions of fair play and substantial justice, the court should look at: (a) the burden on the defendant, (b) the forum State's interest in adjudicating the dispute, (c) the plaintiff's interest in obtaining convenient and effective relief, (d) the interstate judicial system's interest in obtaining the most efficient resolution of controversies, and (c) the shared interest of the several States in furthering fundamental substantive social policies. Burger King, 471 U.S. at 466, 105 S.Ct. 2174 (quoting World-Wide Volkswagen, 444 U.S. at 292, 100 S.Ct. 559.) The broad policy and burden considerations required by the fair play considerations suggest that the burden on defendant in defending a lawsuit in Florida would be great. Any plaintiff's interest in obtaining convenient and effective relief is always present. However, this Court cannot conclude a strong state interest in haling people into Florida courts from all over the country for entering into one service arrangement, over the telephone without ever setting foot in Florida. See Borg-Warner Acceptance Corp. v. Lovett & Tharpe, Inc., 786 F.2d 1055 (11th Cir.1986)(collecting cases where no personal jurisdiction was found over non-resident purchasers for one-time transactions.) The Court concludes that while the Florida long-arm statute may have been met on its technical requirements, the due process considerations of minimum contacts and fair play prevent the action from going forward in this court.