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Williams v. Lakeview Co.11/9/2000
that may be totally unrelated to the claim. Causes of action that "relate to," but do not necessarily "arise out of" a defendant's contacts with the forum fall along this spectrum. They do not automatically fail for lack of a specific causal connection, as the majority's view would dictate, but instead must be examined for other factors that enter into the due process equation.
Due process requires "fair warning" to a nonresident defendant that a particular activity will subject it to suit in a foreign jurisdiction. See Burger King Corp. v. Rudzewicz, 471 U.S. 462, 472, 105 S. Ct. 2174, 2182 (1985). Lakeview targeted Arizona residents by advertising in Arizona newspapers. The casino ran full-page ads in every issue of the Cerbat Gem, trumpeting "WE LOVE OUR ARIZONA NEIGHBORS." In addition, the defendant solicited tour bus companies in this state to bring more Arizonans to its hotel and casino. As an incentive, it paid commissions to these operators based on the amount of time their buses spent at the casino.
As a result of these contacts, Defendant's business has made significant money from Arizona residents. At the time of the accident, nearly 25% of the Gold Strike Inn's guests, and about 17% of its preferred customers, were from this state. As the Supreme Court said in Burger King, once a defendant purposely derives benefit from his contacts with another state, it cannot then use the Due Process Clause as a "territorial shield" to avoid the obligations that flow from those contacts. 471 U.S. at 473-74, 105 S. Ct. at 2183; see also Nowak v. Tak How Invs., Ltd., 94 F.3d 708, 715 (1st Cir. 1996) (upholding jurisdiction over a foreign defendant that "directly targets residents in an ongoing effort to further a business relationship, and achieves its purpose").
Lakeview advertised in Arizona with the clear intent of enticing people to cross the state line and frequent the casino. Like all advertisers, it hoped these efforts would increase public awareness. That, in turn, would result in new customers who had either seen the ads themselves, or heard about the casino from others who may have observed or been told about them. The majority's analysis simply fails to consider such self-evident, "word-of-mouth" effects of prolonged advertising in a targeted area.
It is clear that the plaintiffs were within the class of persons Lakeview intended to draw, even though they had not personally seen the ads. They went to the casino to gamble, as did many other Arizonans. The injuries forming the basis of this cause of action occurred in Arizona and, we assume for purposes of our review, resulted from the defendant's overservice of alcohol in Nevada.
Lakeview cannot seriously claim ignorance that its activities might have subjected it to suit in Arizona. Moreover, as noted by the court of appeals, see Williams v. Lakeview Co., 195 Ariz. 468, 474, 990 P.2d 669, 675 (Ariz. Ct. App. 1999), the defendant has not asserted that the exercise of jurisdiction over it would be unreasonably burdensome. Thus, I see no constitutional impediment to Arizona jurisdiction.
II.
The majority all but ignores section 37 of the Restatement (Second) of Conflict of Laws, which reads as follows:
ยง 37. CAUSING EFFECTS IN STATE BY ACT DONE ELSEWHERE
A state has power to exercise judicial jurisdiction over an individual who causes effects in the state by an act done elsewhere with respect to any claim arising from these effects unless the nature of the effects and of the individual's relationship to the state make the exercise of such jurisdiction unreasonable. (emphasis added).
We have considered this section i
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