 |
 |
to fill out a simple form to connect to Personal Injury Lawyers in your area.
|
|
|
|
|
Newman v. VRL International5/16/2005
CERTIFIED FOR PUBLICATION
Appellant, the law firm of Daar & Newman, previously represented respondent, VRL International, Ltd., in a personal injury action. Because respondent had insufficient contacts with California for this state to assert jurisdiction over it, appellant successfully moved to quash service of process and obtained respondent's dismissal from the action. Appellant also successfully defended the trial court's ruling on appeal to this court.
Contending that it was not paid in full for the services it rendered on behalf of respondent in the prior action, appellant has filed this action for recovery of fees. Respondent filed a motion to quash contending it has no sufficient contacts with this state upon which jurisdiction may be based. The trial court granted the motion to quash referencing our prior opinion and the doctrine of judicial estoppel. It then dismissed respondent from the action.
We conclude the trial court erred. The operative facts and law relating to this action are different from the prior action. The plaintiff in the prior action attempted to assert jurisdiction over respondent for injuries which occurred in connection with a personal watercraft accident in Nassau, the Bahamas. Here, appellant asserts jurisdiction to recover fees directly related to appellant's retention and representation of respondent in California. Because the claim arises directly from services rendered by appellant for respondent in California, limited jurisdiction exists for resolution of the claim.
FACTUAL BACKGROUND
The facts are undisputed. In the prior action, Los Angeles County Superior Court case No. BC196681, David Cuenllas sued respondent and others for personal injury resulting from injuries he sustained in a jet ski accident in the ocean off the Bahamas (the Cuenllas action). He alleged he had been a guest at the Breezes Hotel in Nassau, operated by respondent, and that he had been injured while riding a jet ski he rented from an operator adjacent to the hotel.
After process was served on respondent's agents in the Bahamas, appellant, a California law firm, was retained to represent respondent in the Cuenllas action. On behalf of respondent, appellant filed a motion to quash which was supported by the declaration of Cameron Burnet, respondent's Senior Vice President. Essentially, "Burnet declared that respondent `owns the registered trademark `BREEZES'; is incorporated in the Cayman Islands with its principal place of business in the Bahamas; is not licensed or registered to conduct business in California; has never entered into any contract in California; does not pay taxes in the state; has no business or office or employees in California; has never owned or leased property in California; has never maintained a telephone or telefax number or address in California; has never designated an agent for service of process in California; has no officers or directors residing in California; has never maintained business records in California; has never initiated litigation in California; and did not consent to personal jurisdiction in California.'"
Cuenllas opposed the motion. He asserted that he was on a business trip arranged by his company through an organization called Value Marketing. He learned about various recreational activities at the hotel through brochures and literature sent to him and others before they departed on the trip. Another declaration identified International Lifestyles, a Florida corporation, which solicited business on behalf of various "Breezes" resorts and "SuperClubs Resorts." Marketing occurred in California and other jurisdictions.
The trial court granted the motion t
Page 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 California Personal Injury Attorneys
Personal Injury Lawyers
|
| |
to fill out a simple form to connect to Personal Injury Lawyers in your area.
|
|