Opinion ID: 3048591
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: jurisdiction based on purposeful direction

Text: 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