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Northwestern Aircraft Capital Corporation v. Stewart3/21/2003
Northwestern Aircraft Capital Corporation and Jetwest International, L.L.C. (collectively referred to as the defendants) appeal the trial court's denial of their motion to dismiss for lack of jurisdiction that was filed in the underlying wrongful death action. The defendants argue that the trial court erred in denying their motion because the estates of the decedants (collectively referred to as the plaintiffs) failed to allege sufficient jurisdictional facts to bring the action within the ambit of Florida's long-arm statute and also failed to demonstrate sufficient minimum contacts to satisfy due process requirements. We affirm.
Factual and Procedural Background
On October 25, 1999, four passengers and two pilots embarked upon a journey from which they would never return. Their fateful odyssey began when they boarded a charter jet at the Orlando International Airport bound for Dallas, Texas. After take-off and while the plane was still in Florida airspace, the cabin of the plane depressurized. The effect of this unfortunate event was that it deprived all of the occupants of oxygen and led to their demise. All radio contact with the plane ceased before it left Florida airspace. Although the plane was programmed for autopilot controlled flight, it deviated from its projected flight path, climbed through its assigned altitude limit, and meandered through airspace for several hours with its deceased occupants on board. When it finally exhausted its fuel supply, the plane crashed in South Dakota.
The plaintiffs filed a wrongful death action in Florida, asserting claims of negligence and strict liability and alleging that the Florida court has personal jurisdiction over the defendants. The defendants filed a motion to dismiss on the ground that the Florida court did not have personal jurisdiction over them. The trial court denied the motion, finding that the plaintiffs established jurisdiction pursuant to sections 48.193(1)(f)1. and 48.193(2), Florida Statutes, and that because the defendants have minimum contacts with the state of Florida, all due process requirements had been satisfied. In order to determine whether the trial court erred, we will first address the general requirements that must be met in order to establish long-arm jurisdiction.
General Requirements For Long-Arm Jurisdiction
We must utilize the de novo standard of review when deciding whether a trial court properly denied a motion to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction. Wendt v. Horowitz, 822 So. 2d 1252 (Fla. 2002). Two inquiries must be made when deciding whether a Florida court has personal jurisdiction over a nonresident:
First, the complaint must allege sufficient facts to bring the action within the ambit of one of the various jurisdictional criteria contained in Florida's long-arm statute found in section 48.193, Florida Statutes (2000). Second, if the complaint properly alleges long-arm jurisdiction, sufficient minimum contacts must be demonstrated that satisfy the requirements of federal due process. Law Offices of Sybil Shainwald v. Barro, 817 So. 2d 873, 875-76 (Fla. 5th DCA 2002) (citations omitted); see Execu-Tech Bus. Sys., Inc. v. New Oji Paper Co. Ltd., 752 So. 2d 582 (Fla. 2000); Venetian Salami Co. v. Parthenais, 554 So. 2d 499 (Fla. 1989).
Resolution of the first issue requires statutory analysis of Florida's long-arm statute found in section 48.193, Florida Statutes, which bestows broad jurisdiction on Florida courts. Execu-Tech. In order to satisfy the first inquiry, it is permissible to plead the pertinent language of the statute in the complaint without specifically pleading the facts that support the statutory allegations. Fla. R
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