Opinion ID: 1540447
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 7

Heading: Statutory Consent Remains a Valid Basis for Jurisdiction

Text: We also find continuing support for the recognition of statutory consent as a basis for general jurisdiction in the Supreme Court's very recent decision in Bendix Autolite Corp. v. Midwesco Enterprises, ___ U.S. ___, 108 S.Ct. 2218, 100 L.Ed.2d 896 (1988). The issue in Bendix Autolite Corp., as in Perkins, involved an unregistered foreign corporation and an attempted assertion of jurisdiction over the foreign corporation by the state of Ohio. In Bendix Autolite Corp., the Court appeared to accept the rationale, explicitly stated in the Ohio statute, that the appointment of an agent for service of process would operate as a consent to general jurisdiction in any cause of action, including those in which it did not have minimum contacts necessary for supporting personal jurisdiction, without offending the requirements of due process. Id. 108 S.Ct. at 2221. In a preamble to its ultimate holding, the Court stated: [D]esignation of an agent subjects the foreign corporation to the general jurisdiction of the Ohio courts in matters to which Ohio's tenuous relation would not otherwise extend. Cf. World-Wide Volkswagen Corp. v. Woodson, 444 U.S. 286 [100 S.Ct. 559, 62 L.Ed.2d 490] (1980). The Ohio statutory scheme thus forces a corporation to choose between exposure to the general jurisdiction of Ohio courts or forfeiture of the limitations defense, remaining subject to suit in Ohio and perpetuity. Requiring a foreign corporation to appoint an agent for service in all cases and to defend itself with reference to all transactions, including those in which it did not have the minimum contacts necessary for supporting personal jurisdiction, is a significant burden. Id. In our opinion, the holdings of the United States Supreme Court which involved foreign corporations, following International Shoe, are entirely consistent with the continued viability of its earlier holding in Pennsylvania Fire Ins. Co.. If a foreign corporation has not expressly consented to a state's jurisdiction by registration, minimum contacts with that state can provide a due process basis for finding an implied consent to the state's jurisdiction. International Shoe Co. v. Washington, 326 U.S. at 316-18, 66 S.Ct. at 158-59; Burger King Corp. v. Rudzewicz, 471 U.S. at 474-76, 105 S.Ct. at 2183-84; Perkins v. Benguet Consol. Mining Co., 342 U.S. at 446, 72 S.Ct. at 418. If a foreign corporation has expressly consented to the jurisdiction of a state by registration, due process is satisfied and an examination of minimum contacts to find implied consent is unnecessary. Pennsylvania Fire Ins. Co. v. Gold Issue Mining & Milling Co., 243 U.S. at 95, 37 S.Ct. at 344; See Bendix Autolite Corp. v. Midwesco Enterprises, 108 S.Ct. at 2221; Burger King Corp. v. Rudzewicz, 471 U.S. at 472, 105 S.Ct. at 2182. Cf. Perkins v. Benguet Consol. Mining Co., 342 U.S. at 445-46, 72 S.Ct. at 418. However, these due process conclusions do not mean that foreign corporations are without any federal constitutional protection from the registration requirements of fifty different states and the District of Columbia.