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Williams v. Lakeview Co.11/9/2000
equired to show general jurisdiction is quite high.
When a defendant's activities in the forum state are not so pervasive as to subject it to general jurisdiction, the court may still find specific jurisdiction if: (1) the defendant purposefully avails himself of the privilege of conducting business in the forum; (2) the claim arises out of or relates to the defendant's contact with the forum; and (3) the exercise of jurisdiction is reasonable. See Shute v. Carnival Cruise Lines, 897 F.2d 377, 381 (9th Cir. 1990), reversed on other grounds, 499 U.S. 585 (1991). Although specific jurisdiction may arise without the defendant ever setting foot in the forum state, and may arise incident to a single act directed to the forum, it does not arise from the plaintiff's or a third party's unilateral activity or from the non-resident defendant's mere foreseeability that a claim may arise. See World-Wide Volkswagen v. Woodson, 444 U.S. 286, 295-97, 100 S. Ct. 559, 566-67 (1980). Once the plaintiff establishes that minimum contacts occurred with the forum state and that the events causing the injury arose out of that contact, a rebuttable presumption arises that the forum reasonably can exercise jurisdiction. See Burger King, 471 U.S. at 476-77, 105 S. Ct. at 2184.
We cannot decide the issue of personal jurisdiction, however, by applying any mechanical test or "talismanic jurisdictional formulas; 'the facts of each case must [always] be weighed' in determining whether personal jurisdiction would comport with 'fair play and substantial justice.'" Burger King, 471 U.S. at 485-86, 105 S. Ct. at 2189 (quoting Kulko v. California Superior Court, 436 U.S. 84, 92, 98 S. Ct. 1690, 1696-97 (1978)) (alterations in original).
III.
A.
The Gold Strike Inn & Casino is located within a few miles of the Arizona/Nevada border. The Lakeview partnership conducts no business in Arizona, owns no property in Arizona, and does not list a telephone number in any Arizona directory. Furthermore, the Lakeview partners are all residents of the state of Nevada.
The plaintiffs claim that several activities involving Lakeview create the required minimum contacts with Arizona. First, the casino advertised its weekly dinner buffet in Arizona newspapers, including a small Mohave County paper that circulated once each month. Second, the casino sent a one-time offer to eleven tour bus companies that operated throughout Arizona, offering them incentives to stop at the casino on their way into Nevada. Third, the casino employed Arizona residents, and, at the time of the accident, approximately twenty-three percent of its overnight guests were Arizona residents. The plaintiffs also allege that Lakeview could foresee that some Arizona residents would become intoxicated at the casino and subsequently cause harm to themselves or others while driving on Arizona highways. The plaintiffs concede that their visit was not related to any of Lakeview's contacts with Arizona, and that the only contact they personally had with the casino resulted from their unilateral decision to visit it.
B.
The requirement that a nexus exist between a defendant's activities in the forum state and a plaintiff's cause of action provides the key to exercising specific jurisdiction. A plaintiff's claim must result from "alleged injuries that 'arise out of or relate to' [the defendant's]. . . activities" in the forum state. Burger King, 471 U.S. at 472, 105 S. Ct. at 2182 (quoting Helicopteros, 466 U.S. at 414, 104 S. Ct. at 1872). This test ensures that forums will not exercise jurisdiction over non-resident defendants based solely upon random, fortuitous, or attenuated contacts,
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