Opinion ID: 2973346
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Jurisdictional contacts

Text: Four categories of Canada North’s and Knap’s contacts with Ohio are arguably relevant to the question of whether the district court had personal jurisdiction over them: (1) contacts by Brent Sinclair, the alleged agent of Canada North, with the state of Ohio involving the hunters, (2) contacts by Canada North itself with the state of Ohio involving the hunters, (3) Canada North’s contacts with Ohio not involving the hunters, and (4) Canada North’s other contacts with the United States not involving the hunters. 1. Contacts of Brent Sinclair, the alleged agent of Canada North, with the state of Ohio involving the hunters The first contact with Ohio relating to the hunt at issue came from Brent Sinclair in the form of a fax to Thomas Moore. Moore is not a party to this case, but was in the cabin when the fire took place. The fax suggested that Moore call Sinclair to talk about the details of the hunt. Moore did in fact call Sinclair and later sent deposit checks for himself, Paul Brunner, and Hampson to Sinclair in Canada to reserve spots for the hunt. Sinclair confirmed receipt via fax. Several other telephone calls, faxes, and an email went back and forth between Sinclair and Moore to work out the details of the hunt. 2. Contacts by Canada North itself with the state of Ohio involving the hunters Canada North had several contacts with Ohio other than through Sinclair. One was in the form of a letter sent to Hampson from Canada North containing information about a polar bear hunt and enclosing a brochure about “all of [Canada North’s] hunts,” which presumably included the hunt at issue. Another contact was through Global Expedition, a wholly owned subsidiary of Canada North that provided travel services for 85% to 90% of Canada North’s customers. Global Expedition and Canada North operate out of the same location and use the same telephone number, fax number, and email address. Moore and Hampson contacted Global Expedition at Sinclair’s suggestion to make their travel arrangements. There were then a series of faxes between Canada North and Moore to work out the details of the travel arrangements—airfare, hotel arrangements, costs, and itinerary. Moore spoke with employees of Canada North in several telephone conversations concerning the subject hunt. Jody Gleeson, who was a Canada North employee, actually made the travel arrangements for Moore and Nos. 05-3123/3191 Brunner et al. v. Hampson et al. Page 4 Hampson and mailed the airline tickets and itinerary to the hunters in Ohio. Moore used his credit card to charge the travel costs. Canada North also maintained a mailing list that included Moore. This mailing list was used to send direct-mail advertisements. Moore received several direct mailings from Canada North, including a brochure advertising the subject hunt. 3. Canada North’s contacts with Ohio not involving the hunters In addition to the contacts with Ohio that directly related to the subject hunt, Canada North had other contacts with the state. It placed advertisements in two periodic publications of Safari Club International (SCI), an American organization for hunters. The frequency of the ads was generally two per year. These periodicals were sent to all SCI members, including Moore and Hampson. Moore saw Canada North’s ads in Safari Magazine before the subject hunt. The district court, however, determined that the advertisements and the direct mailings did not induce the hunters to participate in the hunt at issue. The company also offered discounted hunts to two Ohio chapters of SCI in an effort to improve business. Of SCI’s total membership, the Brunner brief claims that 698 are located in Ohio. Canada North’s advertisements in the periodicals of SCI were thus sent to hundreds of Ohioans each year. Furthermore, the annual direct mailings sent out by Canada North went to at least 70 Ohio residents on its mailing list that at one time contained approximately 18,000 individuals. There were more Ohioans named on the list prior to some being purged in a periodic updating. Information about Canada North is located on the website of a Texas booking agency at www.bluewaterbiggame.com. The website contains a description of Canada North, its telephone numbers, and pictures from prior hunts. This information was provided by Canada North. Canada North is also listed as an “International Booking Agent[] from Canada” on www.huntingreport.com, along with a short description of the company. This website does not appear to offer any contact information for Canada North. The Hampson Estate brief also calls attention to the fact that Canada North maintained an insurance policy that provided liability coverage for the “coverage territory” of “Canada and the United States of America (including its territories and possessions).” But Canada North argues that the language in the insurance policy was boilerplate and is not evidence that the company could foresee any liability in Ohio. 4. Canada North’s other contacts with the United States not involving the hunters The appellants’ briefs extensively discuss contacts of Canada North with states other than Ohio. For example, the briefs note that Canada North has attended SCI exhibitions in Nevada every year for 23 years, has offered discounted hunts to SCI chapters in California, Michigan, Montana, Texas, and Wyoming, and was in attendance at a 1999 meeting of the Foundation for North American Wild Sheep held in Nevada. As set forth below, however, the state-law and constitutional personal-jurisdiction tests are worded exclusively in terms of contacts with the forum state. The appellants cite no authority for the proposition that Canada North’s contacts with other states should be considered. As such, this category of contacts is not relevant and will not be further discussed. Nos. 05-3123/3191 Brunner et al. v. Hampson et al. Page 5