Hoskinson v. California12/13/1990
Opinion
Frank Jarvis Atwood, a California parolee, kidnapped, sexually abused, and murdered Vicki Lynne Hoskinson in Tucson in September 1984. He was convicted of his crimes and sentenced to death. Vicki Lynne's parents brought this wrongful death suit against Atwood's parents, his parole officer, the State of California and various California agencies. The theory of the suit was that the defendants knew or reasonably should have known that Atwood was extraordinarily dangerous, that he had travelled through Arizona and might do so again, and that he was imminently
likely to engage in sexual violence against a child. Had the defendants exercised reasonable care, it is argued, Atwood's parole would have been terminated or he would have been controlled in some other way and the murder would not have occurred. Plaintiffs appeal from a dismissal of their complaint for lack of personal jurisdiction. They also appeal the trial court's denial of an award of fees, costs and sanctions under A.R.S. § 12-349 arising out of the defendants' improvident removal of this case to federal court. We affirm.
The plaintiffs assert three grounds for jurisdiction: specific jurisdiction, general jurisdiction, and jurisdiction by necessity. As to the first ground, relying on §§ 36 and 37 of the Restatement (Second) of Conflict of Laws (1971), plaintiffs contend that defendants are subject to jurisdiction in Arizona because, by their tortious failure to control Atwood in California, they either committed a tort in this state or engaged in conduct which they should reasonably have expected would cause an effect in this state. Even assuming the truth of plaintiffs' factual assertions, however, their jurisdictional conclusions fly in the face of the decisions of both the United States Supreme Court and the Arizona Supreme Court.
The core of plaintiffs' argument for specific jurisdiction is that the conduct of the defendants had the foreseeable consequence of injury in Arizona. As the Supreme Court has made abundantly clear, however, "'foreseeability' alone has never been a sufficient benchmark for personal jurisdiction under the Due Process Clause." World-Wide Volkswagen Corp. v. Woodson, 444 U.S. 286, 295, 100 S.Ct. 559, 566, 62 L.Ed.2d 490, 500 (1980). While foreseeability is not irrelevant, the Court explained that "the foreseeability that is critical to due process . . . is that the defendant's conduct and connection with the forum State are such that he should reasonably anticipate being haled into court there." Id. at 297, 100 S.Ct. at 567, 62 L.Ed.2d at 501. Put another way, the defendant must have "fair warning that a particular activity may subject a person to the jurisdiction of a foreign sovereign." Shaffer v. Heitner, 433 U.S. 186, 218, 97 S.Ct. 2569, 2587, 53 L.Ed.2d 683, 706 (1977) (Stevens, J., concurring). This fair warning requirement is met
if the defendant has "purposefully directed" his activities at residents of the forum, Keeton v. Hustler Magazine, Inc., 465 U.S. 770, 774, 104 S.Ct. 1473, 1478, 79 L.Ed.2d 790 (1984), and the litigation results from alleged injuries that "arise out of or relate to" those activities, Helicopteros Nacionales de Columbia, S.A. v. Hall, 466 U.S. 408, 414, 104 S.Ct. 1868, 1872, 80 L.Ed.2d 404 (1984).
Burger King Corp. v. Rudzewicz, 471 U.S. 462, 472, 105 S.Ct. 2174, 2182, 85 L.Ed.2d 528, 541 (1985). As Justice O'Connor wrote in Asahi Metal Industry Co., Ltd v. Superior Court of California, Solano County, 480 U.S. 102, 112, 107 S.Ct. 1026, 1033, 94 L.Ed.2d 92, 104 (1987), "the 'substa
Page 1 2 3 4 5 6 Arizona Personal Injury Attorneys
Personal Injury Lawyers
|