Opinion ID: 3048591
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: wärtsilä entities

Text: Holland America advances three separate theories to support personal jurisdiction over the Wärtsilä entities. It asserts that jurisdiction may be exercised (1) pursuant to Holland America’s forum selection clause; (2) based on the Wärtsilä entities’ purposeful direction toward Washington; or (3) under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 4(k)(2), which provides for nationwide service of process. We consider each of these arguments in turn, all of which are ultimately unpersuasive.5
SELECTION CLAUSE [6] As with the Bureau Veritas defendants, Holland America first relies on the forum selection clause in its purchase orders to confer jurisdiction over Wärtsilä and Wärtsilä Finland. Under general contract principles, a forum selection clause may give rise to waiver of objections to personal jurisdiction, see Chan v. Society Expeditions, Inc., 39 F.3d 1398, 1406 (9th Cir. 1994), provided that the defendant agrees to be so bound, see, e.g., Polar Shipping Ltd. v. Oriental Shipping Corp., 680 F.2d 627, 632 (9th Cir. 1982) (holding that the scope of a forum selection clause is a matter of contract). The fundamental element lacking here is any evidence that either Wärtsilä or Wärtsilä Finland agreed to the clause. 5 Where, as here, the motion is based on written materials rather than an evidentiary hearing, we only inquire into whether Holland America’s pleadings and affidavits make a prima facie showing of personal jurisdiction. Dole, 303 F.3d at 1108. Although a plaintiff cannot simply rest on the bare allegations of its complaint, uncontroverted allegations in the complaint must be taken as true. Id. Conflicts in testimony in affidavits must be resolved in Holland America’s favor. Id. 5076 HOLLAND AMERICA v. WÄRTSILÄ N. AMERICA [7] Holland America’s jurisdictional claim rests on flimsy evidence: Holland America alleges that it conveyed its form terms (including the forum selection clause) to an unidentified email address ending in @wärtsilä.com, and that the Wärtsilä entities had notice of the terms because they appear on Holland America’s website. The missing and critical evidence is telling. Holland America has not provided us any of the following via allegations or evidence: a copy of the terms email; the name of any person who might have been on the receiving end of the email; any evidence of any assent to the terms by either Wärtsilä or Wärtsilä Finland; the name, position, or the individual within Holland America who might have sent the email; or the purchase orders related to the claims at issue. We agree with the district court that “it is not enough that plaintiffs allege to have sent the terms via email to an unspecified email address or general web address.” Such an unsubstantiated and vague statement does not establish a prima facie case for jurisdiction. Alternately, Holland America contends that Wärtsilä NA, which consented to its forum selection clause, acted as an agent for both Wärtsilä Finland and Wärtsilä for the purpose of consenting to jurisdiction. Here, too, the allegation is just that, an allegation without any evidence. Holland America urges us to look to the distributorship agreement between Wärtsilä Finland and Wärtsilä NA. However, Wärtsilä NA produced testimony that Wärtsilä NA was unaware of any occasion when Wärtsilä NA had acted as an agent for Wärtsilä Finland in a U.S. transaction, and there is no evidence that Wärtsilä NA had the authority to consent to jurisdiction for Wärtsilä Finland. Wärtsilä was not a party to that agreement, and Wärtsilä categorically has denied allowing Wärtsilä NA to serve as its agent for the purpose of consenting to litigation in the Western District of Washington. [8] In the face of such unequivocal denials, Holland America offers nothing in response. Neither the agreement nor the bare evidence supports Holland America’s effort to bind HOLLAND AMERICA v. WÄRTSILÄ N. AMERICA 5077 Wärtsilä or Wärtsilä Finland by virtue of any agency relationship. Cf. Terracom v. Valley Nat’l Bank, 49 F.3d 555, 562 (9th Cir. 1995) (affirming district court’s denial of discovery where “a plaintiff’s claim of personal jurisdiction appears to be both attenuated and based on bare allegations in the face of specific denials made by defendants”) (internal quotation marks omitted).
APPLICABLE FORUM SELECTION CLAUSE We next consider Holland America’s alternative arguments that the district court may exercise jurisdiction over Wärtsilä and Wärtsilä Finland either based on purposeful direction toward Washington or based on specific jurisdiction under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 4(k)(2), which provides for nationwide service of process.6 See Helicopteros Nacionales de Colom., S.A. v. Hall, 466 U.S. 408, 414 & n.8 (1984) (clarifying that specific jurisdiction is appropriate where the suit arises out of a defendant’s contacts with the forum); Consol. Dev. Corp. v. Sherritt, Inc., 216 F.3d 1286, 1291-92 (11th Cir. 2000) (discussing both general and specific jurisdiction under Rule 4(k)(2)).
TOWARD WASHINGTON [9] Holland America’s assertion of personal jurisdiction over Wärtsilä and Wärtsilä Finland must satisfy the Supreme Court’s oft-articulated requirement that specific personal jurisdiction must “aris[e] out of or related to the defendant’s contacts with the forum.” Helicopteros, 466 U.S. at 414 n.8. Here, the jurisdictional claim fails on both counts. The evi- 6 At oral argument, counsel for Holland America asserted that general jurisdiction over both Wärtsilä entities would be proper, but that argument was not properly preserved for appeal because Holland America did not raise it in its opening brief. Components Inc., 66 F.3d at 217. 5078 HOLLAND AMERICA v. WÄRTSILÄ N. AMERICA dence supports neither sufficient contacts with the forum nor the requisite nexus between Holland America’s claims and the Wärtsilä parties’ contacts with Washington.
Because there is no real connection between Wärtsilä and Wärtsilä Finland and Washington, Holland America relies on the proposition that those companies sold products or sponsored web marketing for products that ended up in Washington. Neither is sufficient to sustain jurisdiction here. [10] The placement of a product into the stream of commerce, without more, is not an act purposefully directed toward a forum state. Asahi Metal Indus. Co. v. Superior Court, 480 U.S. 102, 112 (1987). Even a defendant’s awareness that the stream of commerce may or will sweep the product into the forum state does not convert the mere act of placing the product into the stream of commerce into an act purposefully directed toward the forum state. Id. [11] Wärtsilä itself has not put any products into the stream of commerce that might have ended up in the forum, whether through a distributorship agreement or otherwise. That alone ends the inquiry. To the extent that Holland America seeks to impute the activities of Wärtsilä NA to Wärtsilä, this argument has little traction. It is well established that, as a general rule, where a parent and a subsidiary are separate and distinct corporate entities, the presence of one, i.e., Wärtsilä NA, in a forum state may not be attributed to the other, i.e., Wärtsilä. Doe v. Unocal Corp., 248 F.3d 915, 925 (9th Cir. 2001). Nor do the allegations against Wärtsilä Finland support a theory of purposeful availment. Asahi requires “something more” than the mere placement of a product into a stream of commerce, and Holland America has failed to demonstrate the requisite extra showing here. See Asahi, 480 U.S. at 111. HOLLAND AMERICA v. WÄRTSILÄ N. AMERICA 5079 A close reading of the record also reveals the paucity of contacts between Wärtsilä Finland and Washington. Wärtsilä Finland sells no products directly into the United States. A marketing representative occasionally visits the United States to keep cruise lines informed of Wärtsilä Finland’s propulsion system offerings, but none of these visits took place in Washington. Although Holland America alleges that Wärtsilä Finland “sends representatives to various industry trade shows in Washington,” this allegation stems from a document demonstrating that employees of Wärtsilä NA may conduct marketing activities on behalf of Wärtsilä Finland, not that they actually do. Similarly, although Holland America alleges that Wärtsilä Finland conducts product training in the United States, the documents do not specify a location for this training. [12] Holland America points to the Wärtsilä consortium’s entirely passive website and Wärtsilä’s advertisements in various marine publications as evidence of a marketing presence in Washington. We consistently have held that a mere web presence is insufficient to establish personal jurisdiction. See, e.g., Panavision Int’l, L.P. v. Toeppen, 141 F.3d 1316, 1322 (9th Cir. 1998); Cybersell, Inc. v. Cybersell, Inc., 130 F.3d 414, 418 (9th Cir. 1997). The Wärtsilä website does not provide any direct means for purchasing parts or requesting services; it simply provides information on the various products manufactured by the Wärtsilä consortium and redirects potential customers to the appropriate subsidiary. This type of passive website is not purposefully directed to the forum state of Washington. Nor do any print advertisements that incidentally may have made their way to Washington support a finding of jurisdiction without more substantial evidence of contacts with the state. See Pebble Beach Co. v. Caddy, 453 F.3d 1151, 1158 (9th Cir. 2006). Holland America has provided the court with a copy of a single advertisement; there is no evidence that this advertisement was designed specifically for the Washington market, or that advertisements are heavily or predominantly distributed in Washington. In sum, Holland 5080 HOLLAND AMERICA v. WÄRTSILÄ N. AMERICA America has not demonstrated that Wärtsilä or Wärtsilä Finland’s extraordinarily limited contacts with Washington give rise to personal jurisdiction there. Alternately, Holland America asks us to apply the “effects” test of Calder v. Jones, 465 U.S. 783, 788-89 (1984), claiming that the effect of Wärtsilä’s activities was felt in Washington. We decline to apply Calder because it is well established that the Calder test applies only to intentional torts, not to the breach of contract and negligence claims presented here. See id. at 789 (distinguishing between intentional action and “mere untargeted negligence”); see also Dole, 303 F.3d at 1111 (“Under our precedents, the purposeful direction or availment requirement for specific direction is analyzed in intentional tort cases under the ‘effects’ test derived from Calder v. Jones.”); Bancroft & Masters, Inc. v. Augusta Nat’l Inc., 223 F.3d 1082, 1088 (9th Cir. 2000) (emphasizing that Calder requires the defendant to individually and wrongfully target the plaintiff). Contrary to Holland America’s contentions, the Calder line of cases is inapposite and does not support a finding of jurisdiction.
[13] Unlike general jurisdiction, specific jurisdiction is tethered to a relationship between the forum and the claim. Omeluk v. Langsten Slip & Batbyggeri A/S, 52 F.3d 267, 271 (9th Cir. 1995). That relationship is missing here. The injury occurred in Tahiti, not Washington. The engine that blew up was manufactured in France, with no connection to Washington. And even if the claim stems from a defective fuel line, Holland America offered no specific allegations as to when or where the fuel line used on the Wind Song was purchased or installed; it has alleged only that Wartsila NA once mailed to Seattle a replacement part for one of the Wind Song’s sister ships. HOLLAND AMERICA v. WÄRTSILÄ N. AMERICA 5081
[14] In a final effort to sustain jurisdiction, Holland America invokes Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 4(k)(2), the nationwide jurisdiction provision. We reject this argument. Wärtsilä and Wärtsilä Finland’s contacts with the United States are only marginally more significant than their contacts with Washington and do not support a finding of nationwide jurisdiction. Rule 4(k)(2) provides: If the exercise of jurisdiction is consistent with the Constitution and laws of the United States, serving a summons or filing a waiver of service is also effective, with respect to claims arising under federal law, to establish personal jurisdiction over the person of any defendant who is not subject to the jurisdiction of the courts of general jurisdiction of any state. Rule 4(k)(2) is not limited to the contours of a state longarm statute. Instead, a court may exercise jurisdiction when three requirements are met. First, the claim against the defendant must arise under federal law—a point undisputed in this case because Holland America asserts admiralty claims. Pebble Beach Co., 453 F.3d at 1159; see also World Tanker Carriers Corp. v. MV Ya Mawlaya, 99 F.3d 717, 723 (5th Cir. 1996). Second, the defendant must not be subject to the personal jurisdiction of any state court of general jurisdiction. Pebble Beach Co., 453 F.3d at 1159. Third, the federal court’s exercise of personal jurisdiction must comport with due process. Id. [15] With respect to the second requirement, neither Wärtsilä nor Wärtsilä Finland has alleged that it is subject to the courts of general jurisdiction in any state. Indeed, Wärtsilä Finland has specifically stated that it is not subject to the courts of general jurisdiction in any state. Ordinarily, the 5082 HOLLAND AMERICA v. WÄRTSILÄ N. AMERICA plaintiff bears the burden of proving personal jurisdiction over the defendant. However, proving the lack of personal jurisdiction in every state could be quite onerous, and it is the defendant, not the plaintiff, that likely possesses most of the information necessary to do so. United States v. Swiss Am. Bank, Ltd., 191 F.3d 30, 40-41 (1st Cir. 1999). Accordingly, we join the Fifth, Seventh, and D.C. Circuits in holding that [a] defendant who wants to preclude use of Rule 4(k)(2) has only to name some other state in which the suit could proceed. Naming a more appropriate state would amount to a consent to personal jurisdiction there . . . . If, however, the defendant contends that he cannot be sued in the forum state and refuses to identify any other where suit is possible, then the federal court is entitled to use Rule 4(k)(2). This procedure makes it unnecessary to traipse through the 50 states, asking whether each could entertain the suit. ISI Int’l, Inc., v. Borden Ladner Gervais LLP, 256 F.3d 548, 552 (7th Cir. 2001) (citations omitted); see also Adams v Unione Mediterranea Di Sicurta, 364 F.3d 646, 651 (5th Cir. 2004) (“We agree with the Seventh Circuit, that a piecemeal analysis of the existence vel non of jurisdiction in all fifty states is not necessary. Rather, so long as a defendant does not concede to jurisdiction in another state, a court may use 4(k)(2) to confer jurisdiction.”); Mwani v. bin Laden, 417 F.3d 1, 11 (D.C. Cir. 2005) (adopting the Seventh Circuit’s approach). Thus, absent any statement from either Wärtsilä or Wärtsilä Finland that it is subject to the courts of general jurisdiction in another state, the second requirement of Rule 4(k)(2) is met. The third requirement—that the exercise of personal jurisdiction comport with due process—presents a major stumbling block for Holland America because of the limited contacts of Wärtsilä and Wärtsilä Finland with the United HOLLAND AMERICA v. WÄRTSILÄ N. AMERICA 5083 States. The due process analysis under Rule 4(k)(2) is nearly identical to traditional personal jurisdiction analysis with one significant difference: rather than considering contacts between the Wärtsilä entities and the forum state, we consider contacts with the nation as a whole. Pebble Beach Co., 453 F.3d at 1159 (“The due process analysis is identical to the one discussed above when the forum was California, except here the relevant forum is the entire United States.”); accord World Tanker Carriers Corp., 99 F.3d at 723-24. [16] The contacts between the Wärtsilä entities and the United States can only be described as scant, fleeting, and attenuated. Neither Wärtsilä nor Wärtsilä Finland has offices, employees, or other related connections in the United States. As noted earlier, the Wärtsilä website is not targeted to the United States. Nothing in the record links Wärtsilä to this country except a one-time presentation at a single cruise ship “leadership forum” in Miami, Florida, where Wärtsilä also sponsored a reception and dinner tables. This isolated incident does not support jurisdiction under Rule 4(k)(2). See Glencore Grain Rotterdam B.V. v. Shivnath Rai Harnarain Co., 284 F.3d 1114, 1123 (9th Cir. 2002) (quoting Burger King Corp. v. Rudzewicz, 471 U.S. 462, 475 (1985)) (holding that a defendant should not be haled into court as a result of “random,” “fortuitous,” or “attenuated” contacts and declining to exercise Rule 4(k)(2) jurisdiction when the defendant had made seven individual shipments to the East Coast). Wärtsilä Finland’s contacts, albeit slightly more numerous than Wärtsilä’s, still are too insignificant to invoke nationwide jurisdiction. Holland America has not supported its nonspecific claim that Wärtsilä Finland authorizes Wärtsilä NA to conduct marketing on its behalf, and Wärtsilä Finland’s occasional visits to cruise ships and unspecified advertising in various marine publications hardly constitute significant contacts. [17] The few cases in which our sister circuits have concluded that Rule 4(k)(2) conferred jurisdiction have involved 5084 HOLLAND AMERICA v. WÄRTSILÄ N. AMERICA defendants with much more extensive contacts to this country. See, e.g., Mwani, 417 F.3d at 13 (holding that jurisdiction could be exercised where defendants had engaged in numerous conspiracies to bomb the World Trade Center, the United Nations, and the Lincoln and Holland Tunnels); Adams, 364 F.3d at 651 (upholding personal jurisdiction under Rule 4(k)(2) where the defendant insurer had directly insured hundreds of claims in the United States). Indeed, in the fourteen years since Rule 4(k)(2) was enacted, none of our cases has countenanced jurisdiction under the rule. Holland America failed to make a prima facie showing that Rule 4(k)(2) confers jurisdiction over either Wärtsilä Finland or Wärtsilä. Accordingly, we affirm the district court’s dismissal of Wärtsilä Finland and Wärtsilä for lack of personal jurisdiction. AFFIRMED.