Opinion ID: 2291663
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: Purposeful Availment by Acting or Causing a Consequence in Forum State

Text: The first prong of the Mohasco test asks whether the defendant purposefully availed himself of the privilege of acting within the forum state or causing a consequence therein. Obviously, by merely posting his eBay advertisement with knowledge that it might attract potential bidders from Kentucky, Robey did not in the traditional sense purposefully avail himself of the privilege of acting in Kentucky. This method of selling an item created no particular or unique relationship to Kentucky such that it could fairly be said that he purposefully availed himself of the privilege of acting within this Commonwealth. Robey did not limit the auction to bidders from Kentucky or target his advertisement to Kentucky residents, and in fact could not know the resident state of the successful bidder until the auction was complete. See Neogen Corp. v. Neo Gen Screening, Inc., 282 F.3d 883 (6th Cir.2002) (A defendant purposefully avails itself of the privilege of acting in a state through its website if the website is interactive to a degree that reveals specifically intended interaction with residents of the state.) (quoting Zippo Mfg. Co. v. Zippo Dot Com, Inc., 952 F.Supp. 1119, 1124 (W.D.Pa.1997)); cf. Hillerich & Bradsby Co. v. Hall, 147 F.Supp.2d 672 (W.D.Ky.2001) (In making a determination of whether a nonresident defendant purposefully availed itself of the forum state's laws by entering into a business contract with a forum state resident, the reviewing court must consider prior negotiations of the parties, future consequences contemplated by parties, terms of the contract, and the parties' actual course of dealing.). Nevertheless, the first prong of the Mohasco test may also be satisfied if a defendant has purposefully availed himself of the privilege of causing a consequence in the forum state. [12] In this transaction, (again assuming Hinners's allegations to be true), Robey did in fact cause a consequence in Kentucky by selling a defective vehicle to a resident of the state, with all that entails such as highway safety concerns and automobile repair expenses. But, it may not reasonably be said that Robey purposefully availed himself of the privilege of causing that consequence in Kentucky. Robey did not select a Kentucky resident as the purchaser of his vehicle. To the contrary, it was Hinners that elected to do business with a Missouri seller. When the auction was completed, Robey was bound by the auction contract to transfer the vehicle to the purchaser for registration and use wherever that purchaser lived. That the buyer's home state was Kentucky is a purely fortuitous consequence, not a purposeful choice of Robey. Thus, the first prong of the Mohasco test cannot be satisfied because Robey did not purposefully avail himself of the privilege of acting in Kentucky or causing a consequence in Kentucky.