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Giacomini v. Lamping3/1/2001
Giacomini Rubinetterie, S.p.A. ("Giacomini") brings this accelerated interlocutory appeal of a Hidalgo County district court's order denying its special appearance. See Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code Ann. ยง 51.014(a)(7) (Vernon Supp. 2001); Tex. R. Civ. P. 120a. Giacomini contends that the court lacks personal jurisdiction. We affirm the trial court's denial of Giacomini's special appearance.
The facts of this appeal are not contested. Angela and Clifford Lamping, residents of Hidalgo County, sued a group of defendants including Giacomini for injuries Clifford sustained when an explosion occurred in their home. Clifford was in bed when the explosion happened. He sustained catastrophic injuries including burns over 50% of his body. The Lampings contend that the explosion was caused by an open, uncapped gas valve that had been installed in the house. Giacomini manufactured the gas valve.
Giacomini filed a special appearance contesting the trial court's exercise of personal jurisdiction over it. Attached to the special appearance was the affidavit of Alberto Giacomini, owner of Giacomini, S.p.A. In his affidavit, he stated that Giacomini, S.p.A. is an Italian corporation with offices in Italy. It has no offices in Texas, conducts no business in Texas, has no property or bank accounts in Texas, has entered into no contracts with parties in Texas, and has no other contacts with the State of Texas.
At the heart of this case is the method of distribution of Giacomini's gas valves in Texas. Giacomini manufactures its products in Italy. It sells its valves to distributors in the United States, but did not sell them to any Texas corporation, and does not have any distributors that are Texas residents. The distributors that it does have are not "owned by, related to, or controlled by Giacomini, S.P.A.," and Giacomini has no kind of franchise, licensing or distributorship agreements with them.
In the usual course of business, a distributor contacts Giacomini, S.p.A. either by telephone, fax or e-mail, and places a purchase order for valves or other products. The distributor specifies a location where Giacomini should ship its order. Two of Giacomini's distributors, B&K;of Illinois (B&K; and Pegler, Ltd. of England, occasionally have their valves shipped to the Port of Houston. Giacomini ships them either C.I.F. or F.O.B. The distributors are free to market the valves in any manner, and may charge any price.
Attached to the plaintiff's response was Giacomini's answers to interrogatories. Some of those answers fleshed out the relationship between Giacomini and its distributors. There, Giacomini stated that the only goods it sent to the Port of Houston were shipped C.I.F. to B&K; and B&K;had a broker pick up the delivery. Giacomini stated that it had no knowledge regarding whether the goods sent to Houston were intended to be distributed in Texas.
The Lampings also attached discovery responses from B&K;Industries. B&K;stated that it has been purchasing valves from Giacomini for around 10 years. It also stated that it currently receives four to six containers per year from Giacomini in Houston, shipped CIF. A container carries 65,000 to 85,000 products (i.e., 250,000 products per year delivered to Houston). B&K;stated that Giacomini refers to B&K;and three other U.S. companies as "distributors," although there is no written agreement regarding the distributorship relationship. Rather, there is an understanding that Giacomini will sell directly only to those companies.
Also attached to the plaintiff's response was the affidavit of Richard Kuhlman, Senior Executive Vice President for B&K;Industrie
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