Paul LaMarca,
Appellant,
v.
Pak-Mor Manufacturing Company,
Respondent,
et al.,
Defendants.
(And a third-party action.)
2000 NY Int. 88
The case before us involves a challenge to New York's
long-arm jurisdiction. Plaintiff, a Town of Niagara employee,
sued defendant Pak-Mor Manufacturing Company, a Texas
corporation, alleging that he was injured when he fell from a
sanitation truck equipped with a defective Pak-Mor loading
device. In his complaint against Pak-Mor, plaintiff alleged
negligence, breach of warranty, failure to warn and strict
products liability. Pak-Mor moved to dismiss for lack of
personal jurisdiction. Supreme Court granted the motion and the
Pak-Mor is a Texas corporation that manufactures garbage hauling equipment. It has a manufacturing facility in Virginia. The company has no property, offices, telephone numbers or employees in this State. It does, however, maintain a New York distributor, Truckmobile Equipment Corp., and a district representative. In the year of the accident, Pak-Mor's total sales revenue was $18,245,292.00, $514,490.00 of which was derived from New York. The company advertised in nationally published trade magazines using a logo that read "Sanitation for the Nation." It also offered warranties and provided troubleshooting advice to the ultimate purchasers of its equipment.
Pak-Mor sold the rear-loading device that was alleged
to have caused plaintiff's injuries to its New York distributor,
which in turn sold it to the Town of Niagara. Its "invoice and
final inspection sheet" indicates that the rear loader was
destined for Niagara, New York. The document also lists a "New
To determine whether a non-domiciliary may be sued in New York, we first determine whether our long-arm statute (CPLR 302 ) confers jurisdiction over it in light of its contacts with this State. If the defendant's relationship with New York falls within the terms of CPLR 302 , we determine whether the exercise of jurisdiction comports with due process.
CPLR 302(a) provides:
"As to a cause of action arising from any of the acts enumerated in this section, a court may exercise personal jurisdiction over any non-domiciliary * * * who * * *:
"3. commits a tortious act without the state causing injury to person or property within the state, except as to a cause of action for defamation of character arising from the act, if he
The conferral of jurisdiction under this provision rests on five elements: First, that defendant committed a tortious act outside the State; second, that the cause of action arises from that act; third, that the act caused injury to a person or property within the State; fourth, that defendant expected or should reasonably have expected the act to have consequences in the State; and fifth, that defendant derived substantial revenue from interstate or international commerce.
No one disputes the first three elements. Plaintiff
has alleged that his cause of action arises from defendant's
tortious acts outside the State, which caused him injury in
Niagara, New York. The fourth element -- contemplating "in-State
consequences" -- is met when "[t]he nonresident tortfeasor * * *
expect[s], or ha[s] reason to expect, that his or her tortious
activity in another State will have direct consequences in New
York" (Ingraham v Carroll, , 90 NY2d 592, 598 [emphasis added]).
The element "is intended to ensure some link between a defendant
and New York State to make it reasonable to require a defendant
to come to New York to answer for tortious conduct committed
elsewhere" (Ingraham, 90 NY2d, at 598,
Pak-Mor's invoice, including its reference to a "New York Light Bar," shows that it knew the rear-loader was destined for use in New York. Clearly, Pak-Mor had reason to expect that any defects would have direct consequences in this State.
The fifth element -- defendant's deriving substantial
revenue from interstate or international commerce -- is designed
to narrow "the long-arm reach to preclude the exercise of
jurisdiction over nondomiciliaries who might cause direct,
foreseeable injury within the State but 'whose business
operations are of a local character'" (Ingraham, 90 NY2d, at 599
[quoting the 12th Ann Report of NY Jud Conf, at 342-343],
By contrast, Pak-Mor's business can hardly be
characterized as "local." A Texas corporation with a
manufacturing facility in Virginia is inherently engaged in
interstate commerce. Moreover, the company had a New York
distributor and a district representative. Its national
advertising and New York sales figures alone show that the
company derives substantial revenue from interstate commerce.[2]
In short, we have no difficulty in concluding that CPLR 302(a) (3)(ii) was satisfied in this case. Pak-Mor derived
substantial revenue from interstate commerce and the
circumstances surrounding its sale of the subject rear-loader
gave it reason to expect that its acts in connection with the
manufacture of the rear-loader would have consequences in this
State. Because CPLR 302(a) (3)(ii) did not authorize jurisdiction
over the defendant in Ingraham (
"Minimum Contacts"
In International Shoe Co. v Washington (326 US 310),
the United States Supreme Court held that a State may
constitutionally exercise jurisdiction over non-domiciliary
defendants, provided they had "certain minimum contacts with [the
forum State] such that the maintenance of the suit does not
offend 'traditional notions of fair play and substantial
justice'" (International Shoe Co., 326 US, at 316 [quoting
Milliken v Meyer, 311 US 457, 463],
Due process is not satisfied unless a non-domiciliary
has "minimum contacts" with the forum State. The test has come
to rest on whether a defendant's "conduct and connection with the
forum state" are such that it "should reasonably anticipate being
haled into court there" (World-Wide Volkswagen Corp., 444 US 286,
297; see also, Kulko v California Superior Ct., 436 US 84, 97-
98). A non-domiciliary tortfeasor has "minimum contacts" with
the forum State -- and may thus reasonably foresee the prospect
of defending a suit there -- if it "'purposefully avails itself
of the privilege of conducting activities within the forum
State'" (see, World-Wide Volkswagen Corp., 444 US, at 297
[quoting Hanson v Denckla, 357 US 235, 253],
The United States Supreme Court's decision in World-
Wide Volkswagen (444 US 286,
The Supreme Court, however, distinguished cases in which manufacturers purposefully direct their products into the forum state:
"if the sale of a product of a manufacturer or distributor * * * is not simply an isolated occurrence, but arises from the efforts of the manufacturer or distributor to serve directly or indirectly, the market for its product in other States, it is not unreasonable to subject it to suit in one of those States if its allegedly defective merchandise has there been the source of injury to its owner or to others" (444 US, at 297 [emphasis added],
supra ).
Pak-Mor argues that it had no contacts or purposeful
affiliation with New York, asserting that "it did not direct
activities at New York residents" and that it "performed
manufacturing in Virginia for customers who paid, received title
and accepted delivery in Virginia." This may be true, but it is
far from dispositive. Unlike the defendant in World-Wide
Volkswagen Corp., Pak-Mor itself forged the ties with New York.
It took purposeful action, motivated by the entirely
understandable wish to sell its products here. This contrasts
with cases in which the defendant's connection with the forum
State resulted from decisions made by others, as in World-Wide
Volkswagen Corp., where the plaintiff customer chose to drive to
Minimum contacts alone do not satisfy due process. The
prospect of defending a suit in the forum State must also comport
with traditional notions of "'fair play and substantial justice'"
(Burger King v Rudzewicz, 471 US, at 476 [quoting International
Shoe Co., 326 US, at 316,
In Asahi Metal Indus. v Superior Ct., the Supreme Court articulated the test:
"A court must consider the burden on the defendant, the interests of the forum State, and the plaintiff's interest in obtaining relief. It must also weigh in its determination 'the interstate judicial system's interest in obtaining the most efficient resolution of controversies; and the shared interest of the several States in furthering fundamental and substantive social policies'" (480 US, at 113 [quoting World-Wide Volkswagen, 444 US, at 292],
supra ).[3]
In Asahi, Cheng Shin, a Taiwanese tire tube
manufacturer defending a California product liability action,
attempted to implead Asahi, a Japanese tube valve manufacturer
that had installed valves on Cheng Shin's tubes in Japan (480 US,
at 106,
Pak-Mor is no Asahi. Its posture toward New York is
considerably different from Asahi's posture toward California.
Asahi was a Japanese corporation doing business with a Taiwanese
tire tube manufacturer, whereas Pak-Mor is a Texas corporation
that maintains a manufacturing facility in Virginia and used a
New York distributor. The burden on Pak-Mor is not great.
Unlike Asahi, Pak-Mor is a United States corporation fully
familiar with this country's legal system. Moreover, New York
has an interest in providing a convenient forum for LaMarca, a
New York resident who was injured in New York and may be entitled
Fair play involves a set of corresponding rights and obligations. When a company of Pak-Mor's size and scope profits from sales to New Yorkers, it is not at all unfair to render it judicially answerable for its actions in this State. Considering that Pak-Mor's long business arm extended to New York, it seems only fair to extend correspondingly the reach of New York's jurisdictional long-arm. In all, we conclude that asserting jurisdiction over Pak-Mor in New York would not offend traditional notions of fair play and substantial justice.
Accordingly, the order of the Appellate Division should be reversed, with costs, and defendant Pak-Mor's cross-motion to dismiss plaintiff's complaint against it denied.
1 After the Appellate Division affirmed, plaintiff moved for leave to appeal to this Court. Owing to the existence of cross and counterclaims, we dismissed his initial motion for nonfinality (see, LaMarca v Pak-Mor Mfg. Co., , 89 NY2d 938). After those claims were resolved, plaintiff again sought leave to appeal to this Court, which we granted.
2 Plaintiff also argues that jurisdiction may be founded upon CPLR 302(a) (1) (conferring jurisdiction when defendant "transacts any business within the state or contracts anywhere to supply goods or services in the state") and CPLR 302(a) (3)(i) (conferring jurisdiction when defendant "regularly does or solicits business, or engages in any other persistent course of conduct, or derives substantial revenue from goods used or consumed or services rendered, in the state"). He did not, however, rely on CPLR 302(a) (1) before Supreme Court and the argument is therefore unpreserved for our review. We do not address the application of CPLR 302(a) (3)(i) here inasmuch as we conclude that CPLR 302(a) (3)(ii) confers jurisdiction.
3 Our discussion of Asahi is limited to the "fair play and substantial justice" analysis inasmuch as its treatment of "minimum contacts" did not result in a majority opinion. We note that our result would be the same under either of the "minimum contacts" views expressed.