Opinion ID: 2675191
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Taishan’s contacts with Florida

Text: Having concluded that TTP was TG’s agent under Florida law allowing imputation of TTP’s contacts to TG, we next ask whether the entities’ contacts with Florida were sufficient to allow personal jurisdiction over TG in Florida. Again, we benefit from the district court’s extensive factual findings on Taishan’s contacts with Florida.
Taishan sold 200,000 sheets of its drywall to Florida customers or customers doing business in Florida and made almost $800,000 from these sales. Taishan’s specific dealings with OTC, however, are particularly relevant to our jurisdictional analysis. TTP entered into a sole agency agreement with OTC—a Florida company—in which OTC agreed to purchase at least 20,000 sheets of TTP drywall between November 2006 and February 2007, and not less than 1,000,000 sheets in the following twelve months. The agreement with OTC was notarized under Florida law, OTC paid a $100,000 deposit to TTP under the agreement, and OTC purchased about 57,800 sheets of drywall for $208,711.20 from TTP. 9 Though the district court found that jurisdiction was proper under § 48.193(1)(a)(1), (2), and (6), because we find § 48.193(1)(a)(1) satisfied, we do not need to address these alternative grounds for long-arm jurisdiction. 18 Case: 12-31213 Document: 00512636188 Page: 19 Date Filed: 05/20/2014 No. 12-31213 Taishan knew through communications with OTC that its drywall would be shipped to Florida, as invoices and emails provided that shipments would be to Miami, Florida. 10 TTP also issued export invoices on 44,490 pieces of drywall sold to OTC and shipped to Miami. OTC and Taishan discussed expanding the sales in the United States, and Taishan said it would help OTC market and sell the drywall. Further, OTC requested that the drywall meet American Codes and Standards. Specifically, Taishan customized its drywall to meet American Society for Testing and Materials (“ASTM”) standards and provided ASTM certificates. Taishan also manufactured its drywall in inches, altered its DUN brand colors to reflect the colors of the American flag, and shipped samples of its drywall to Florida. Moreover, Taishan hosted OTC’s representative for a visit in China. Taishan arranged shipments from China to Florida, and although the shipping was FOB China, Taishan handled and paid for the shipping of drywall to Florida. 11 Taishan made suggestions as to which Florida port would be best for shipping, 12 and all of OTC’s shipments went to Florida. Taishan also complied with Florida Department of Transportation’s regulations. After their business relationship ended, OTC and Taishan discussed a new business relationship, in which Taishan would provide electronics to OTC in the United States. 10 Indeed OTC emailed TTP instructing, “I think the best thing to do right now is to let you operate the ocean freight and shipping from Qingdao to Miami, Fl” and “Half of this order will have Miami, FL as a destination; the other half will go to Orlando, FL.” 11 As Ivan Gonima of OTC testified: “[T]hey were in charge of finding the shipping company, they were in charge of making the deal with the shipping company, and we were to pay, because they said that they could get a better price through their connections in China . . . So, yes, it was free on board, the price they were giving us was free on board, but they were the ones hiring or making the arrangements for the shipping.” 12 Gonima explained that they would take care of the shipping and that “they also mentioned . . . Jacksonville, Florida” as a possible port. 19 Case: 12-31213 Document: 00512636188 Page: 20 Date Filed: 05/20/2014 No. 12-31213
TTP also sold drywall to B. America Corporation through Onyx GBB Corporation—both Florida companies. B. America purchased 1,320 sheets of TTP drywall, compliant with ASTM standards, and delivered “CFR MIAMI.” B. America wired half of the purchase price to TTP, but the deal fell through when the American market suffered. B. America tried to get a refund for the wire transfer, but TTP refused. As a result, B. America purchased the drywall from TTP and contacted R&R Building Materials (“R&R”) to purchase this drywall from B. America. TTP prepared an invoice selling 660 sheets to B. America in exchange for $5,656.20 and noting that the delivery was “CIF [cost, insurance, freight] Miami Port.” In communications to Onyx and B. America, Taishan wrote: “We will arrange the shipping to Miami Port at an early time.” TTP took out insurance on its shipment to B. America, and the policy notes that the shipment is going to Florida. After the shipment reached Florida, Onyx sold it to R&R in Miami.
Wood Nation, Inc.—another Florida company—also purchased drywall from TTP. Richard Hannam, the president of Wood Nation, visited TTP in China, and entered into a contract with TTP for the purchase of 333,000 sheets of TTP drywall. The contract provided that the port of discharge was Tampa, Florida and that Wood Nation was registered at Tampa, Florida. TTP provided Wood Nation with test reports showing that it qualified with ASTM standards. Wood Nation requested that TTP customize the drywall by putting “ASTM C 1396-04” on the back of each piece of drywall, and TTP stamped each board with “Tampa, Florida” as the contact location as well as a Florida phone number as the contact phone number. 13 Wood Nation revised its contract to 13 Wenlong Peng testified, “We would stamp it for the customer.” 20 Case: 12-31213 Document: 00512636188 Page: 21 Date Filed: 05/20/2014 No. 12-31213 purchase only 26,000 sheets of drywall in order to accommodate a smaller order from its customer. Wood Nation handled shipping the drywall from China to Florida.
A Pennsylvania company, Devon International Trading, was also interested in purchasing Chinese drywall. Devon’s president toured Taishan’s factory in China, and TG sent samples of its drywall to Devon. Devon and another company, North Pacific Group, entered a purchase order of 485,044 sheets of drywall to be sent to Pensacola, Florida. Devon requested to purchase drywall from TG to satisfy the North Pacific purchase order. The product was purchased through a trading company, Shanghai Yu Yuan Import & Export Company, and the Devon logo was stamped on each package. Each piece of drywall was also stamped with a guarantee that it met ASTM standards. In the course of the drywall’s transit to Pensacola, Florida, about half of the drywall was damaged, and North Pacific only purchased a fraction of what it original ordered. Devon sold the left over drywall to distributors, wholesalers, and some individuals. Devon sold some drywall to Emerald Coast Building Supply, and Emerald Coast sold 840 boards of drywall to Rightway Drywall, who finally sold it to Mitchell—the named plaintiff. This drywall had the same markings requested by Devon, specifically, the drywall is stamped that it is “made in China” and “Meet[s] or exceeds ASTM C1396 04 standard.” Mitchell then used the drywall to build homes in Florida. e. Taishan sends Carn Construction samples in Florida. Carn Construction Corporation, a Florida corporation, also contacted Taishan to purchase drywall after it discovered Taishan through Alibaba.com. Taishan represents on this website that it exports drywall on Alibaba.com, and when Carn contacted Taishan and informed Taishan that it was a Florida company, Taishan represented that it exported to the United States and said 21 Case: 12-31213 Document: 00512636188 Page: 22 Date Filed: 05/20/2014 No. 12-31213 it was willing to “ship their products to [Carn] in Florida.” Taishan sent drywall samples to Carn in Florida. “[F]or marketing purposes,” Taishan would “give [Carn] the option in [the] order to mark a brand” on the drywall. 14