Court Opinion

ID: 9634513
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-22 13:15:43.292249+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:09:04.548224
License: Public Domain

ROBERTS, Justice,
concurring.
I agree that the preliminary objection of appellant, Dominic A. Piracci, Sr. (defendant), challenging the jurisdiction of the trial court, should have been sustained. Constitutional due process permits a court to exercise jurisdiction to decide a claim against a non-resident only where there exist “minimum contacts” among the defendant, the forum and the litigation such that it would be “fair play and substantial justice” to require the non-resident to defend in the forum. Shaffer v. Heitner, 433 U.S. 186, 97 S.Ct. 2569, 53 L.Ed.2d 683 (1977); International Shoe Co. v. Washington, 326 U.S. 310, 66 S.Ct. 154, 90 L.Ed. 95 (1945). See Sperry & Hutchinson Co. v. O’Connor, 488 Pa. 340, 412 A.2d 539 (1980) (dissenting opinion of Roberts, J.).
On this record, although there is a relationship between the cause of action and the forum (alleged negligence resulted in injuries in Pennsylvania), no nexus has been alleged between the defendant and Pennsylvania. Thus, the trial court erred in asserting jurisdiction over appellant. Neither the foreseeability nor convenience of defending a lawsuit may substitute for the constitutional due process requirement of “minimum contacts” between a defendant and the forum state. World-Wide Volkswagen Corp. v. Woodson, 444 U.S. 286, 100 S.Ct. 559, 62 L.Ed.2d 490 (1980); Hanson v. Denckla, 357 U.S. 235, 78 S.Ct. 1228, 2 L.Ed.2d 1283 (1958).