This appeal challenges the trial court's quashing service of summons for lack of personal jurisdiction. We review the issue as a matter of law (Hall v. LaRonde (1997) 56 Cal.App.4th 1342, 1346 [66 Cal.Rptr.2d 399]), and we affirm the trial court's determination.
The underlying plaintiff sued appellant Bombardier Recreational Products, Inc. (Bombardier), for personal injuries. He claimed that in 2007, while trying to start a Sea-Doo personal watercraft manufactured by Bombardier, the watercraft caught fire, causing him serious injuries. He alleged Bombardier was negligent for failing to inform him of a recall for the watercraft's allegedly defective fuel tank.
Bombardier filed a cross-complaint against respondent Dow Chemical Canada ULC (Dow Canada). Dow Canada is a successor to Union Carbide Canada, Inc. (Union Carbide Canada), whose Wedco Moulded Products division (Wedco), for a time, manufactured fuel tanks Bombardier installed in its personal watercraft.
Appearing specially, Dow Canada filed a motion to quash service of summons for lack of personal jurisdiction. It contended it and its predecessors lacked sufficient contacts with California to be subject to suit here. Prior to 1998, Wedco manufactured fuel tanks and fuel tank filler necks used by Bombardier in its personal watercraft. The fuel tanks were manufactured exclusively in Canada. Wedco sold the fuel tanks to Bombardier exclusively in Canada pursuant to purchase orders made in Canada. Bombardier manufactured its personal watercraft in Canada. Union Carbide Canada sold Wedco to an unrelated third party in 1998.
Union Carbide Canada, including Wedco, never had a registered agent in California, never qualified to do business in California, never manufactured any products in California, never had any employees, offices, or facilities in California, and never advertised or sold any personal watercraft fuel tanks or fuel tank filler necks in California.
In 2001, Union Carbide Canada merged with Dow Chemical Canada, Inc., and the company was later renamed Dow Chemical Canada ULC.
Dow Canada is a Canadian corporation with its principal place of business in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. It has never had an agent for service of process in California, never qualified to do business in California, never manufactured any products in California, never had any employees, officers or other facilities in California, and never advertised or sold products in California or to customers in California.
In its opposition to the motion to quash service, Bombardier did not contest Dow Canada's factual assertions. Rather, it argued Dow Canada had sufficient contacts with California because Union Carbide Canada had known
Dow Canada objected to Bombardier's evidence in part because the declarations were signed under penalty of perjury under the laws of the United States of America, not the laws of the State of California as required by Code of Civil Procedure section 2015.5.
The trial court granted the motion to quash, and it sustained the objections against Bombardier's evidence. It determined California lacked personal jurisdiction because Dow Canada lacked minimum contacts with the state. Dow Canada had not purposefully engaged in activities in the state or availed itself of the benefits of conducting business here. The court sustained Dow Canada's objections to Bombardier's evidence, but it stated that even if Dow Canada had known Bombardier would sell the watercraft in the United States or had agreed to design the fuel tanks in compliance with United States regulations, Dow Canada's contacts with California would be attenuated at best and insufficient to establish personal jurisdiction.
Bombardier contends the trial court erred. It claims Dow Canada's knowledge that its products would eventually enter the stream of commerce in California was sufficient to establish jurisdiction. It also claims the trial court erred in sustaining the objections against Biron's and Daunais's declarations.
In Dow Chemical Canada ULC v. Superior Court (2011) 202 Cal.App.4th 170 [134 Cal.Rptr.3d 597] (Fandino), our colleagues in the Second Appellate District faced the same issue we face: whether Dow Canada was subject to California jurisdiction because its predecessors were aware that their fuel tanks and fuel tank filler necks, installed in Bombardier watercraft manufactured in Canada, would be sold in California. The Court of Appeal and the California Supreme Court initially had denied Dow Canada any relief, but the United States Supreme Court vacated the judgment and remanded the matter to the Court of Appeal for further consideration in light of the high court's most recent ruling on personal jurisdiction, J. McIntyre Machinery, Ltd. v.
We reach the same result our colleagues did in Fandino.
Under the minimum contacts test, "[p]ersonal jurisdiction may be either general or specific." (Vons Companies, Inc. v. Seabest Foods, Inc., supra, 14 Cal.4th at p. 445.) Because Bombardier does not claim general jurisdiction, we consider only whether specific jurisdiction exists here.
The United States Supreme Court has wrestled with the scope of the "purposeful availment" requirement. Plurality and concurring opinions in Asahi Metal Industry Co. v. Superior Court (1987) 480 U.S. 102 [94 L.Ed.2d 92, 107 S.Ct. 1026] (Asahi) offered competing views on whether the foreign defendant created minimum contacts with the forum state simply by foreseeing that its products could reach the forum state when they entered into the stream of commerce. More recently, in J. McIntyre, plurality and concurring opinions again could not agree on the extent to which the foreign defendant's foreseeability could establish minimum contacts.
In Asahi, a California plaintiff sued in state court the Taiwanese manufacturer of a motorcycle tire tube in a products liability action. The Taiwanese manufacturer in turn filed a cross-complaint for indemnity against Asahi, the Japanese manufacturer of the tube's valve assembly. Asahi moved to quash summons on the basis of lack of jurisdiction. (Asahi, supra, 480 U.S. at pp. 105-106.) The high court concluded Asahi lacked minimum contacts with California. (Id. at p. 108.)
Writing for the four-member plurality, Justice O'Connor rejected the notion that "mere foreseeability or awareness was a constitutionally sufficient basis for personal jurisdiction if the defendant's product made its way into the forum State while still in the stream of commerce. [Citation.]" (Asahi, supra,
According to Justice O'Connor, even assuming Asahi knew some of the valves it sold to the Taiwanese company would be incorporated into tire tubes sold in California, the Taiwanese company had "not demonstrated any action by Asahi to purposefully avail itself of the California market. Asahi does not do business in California. It has no office, agents, employees, or property in California. It does not advertise or otherwise solicit business in California. It did not create, control, or employ the distribution system that brought its valves to California. [Citation.] There is no evidence that Asahi designed its product in anticipation of sales in California. [Citation.] On the basis of these facts, the exertion of personal jurisdiction over Asahi by the Superior Court of California exceeds the limits of due process." (Asahi, supra, 480 U.S. at pp. 112-113 (plur. opn. of O'Connor, J.).)
Justice Brennan, joined by three justices in his concurrence, rejected Justice O'Connor's view of the stream of commerce theory. In his opinion, "[t]he stream of commerce refers not to unpredictable currents or eddies, but to the regular and anticipated flow of products from manufacture to distribution to retail sale. As long as a participant in this process is aware that the final product is being marketed in the forum State, the possibility of a lawsuit there cannot come as a surprise. Nor will the litigation present a burden for which there is no corresponding benefit. A defendant who has placed goods in the stream of commerce benefits economically from the retail sale of the final product in the forum State, and indirectly benefits from the State's laws that regulate and facilitate commercial activity. These benefits accrue regardless of whether that participant directly conducts business in the forum State, or engages in additional conduct directed toward that State."
The New Jersey Supreme Court held New Jersey could exercise jurisdiction. It ruled the state could "exercise jurisdiction over a foreign manufacturer of a product so long as the manufacturer `knows or reasonably should know that its products are distributed through a nationwide distribution system that might lead to those products being sold in any of the fifty states.' [Citation.]" (J. McIntyre, supra, 564 U.S. at p. ___ [180 L.Ed.2d at p. 772].)
The United States Supreme Court reversed, concluding J. McIntyre lacked minimum contacts with New Jersey. Writing for a four-member plurality, Justice Kennedy sided with Justice O'Connor in requiring the minimum contacts with the forum state to come about by the defendant's actions purposefully directed toward the forum state: "This Court's precedents make clear that it is the defendant's actions, not his expectations, that empower a State's courts to subject him to judgment." (J. McIntyre, supra, 564 U.S. at p. ___ [180 L.Ed.2d at p. 776] (plur. opn. of Kennedy, J.).) "[T]he authority to subject a defendant to judgment depends on purposeful availment, consistent with Justice O'Connor's opinion in Asahi...." (J. McIntyre, supra, at p. ___ [180 L.Ed.2d at p. 777] (plur. opn. of Kennedy, J.).)
Justice Breyer, writing for himself and Justice Alito, concurred in the result. He did so, however, based only on existing precedent. None of those precedents, he stated, found that a single isolated sale to a customer who takes an accident-causing product to a different state was sufficient contact to assert jurisdiction. That scenario would not pass muster under either Justice O'Connor's or Justice Brennan's formulations announced in their Asahi opinions. The facts showed "no `regular ... flow' or `regular course' of sales in New Jersey [(the Brennan, J., approach)]; and there is no `something more,' such as special state-related design, advertising, advice, marketing, or anything else [(the O'Connor, J., approach)]." (J. McIntyre, supra, 564 U.S. at p. ___ [180 L.Ed.2d at p. 779] (conc. opn. of Breyer, J.).)
Nevertheless, Justice Breyer went on to explain why he disagreed with the approaches taken by both the plurality and by the New Jersey Supreme Court. He disagreed with the plurality opinion because he felt it was an attempt to establish strict rules limiting jurisdiction without taking account of recent changes in globalized and electronic commerce, issues this case did not present. (J. McIntyre, supra, 564 U.S. at p. ___ [180 L.Ed.2d at p. 780] (conc. opn. of Breyer, J.).)
However, he also disagreed with the approach adopted by the New Jersey Supreme Court that a manufacturer is subject to jurisdiction for a products liability action because it should have foreseen its products might be sold anywhere in the United States. A test based merely on foreseeability would rest jurisdiction "upon no more than the occurrence of a product-based accident in the forum State," a notion the high court has rejected. (J. McIntyre, supra, 564 U.S. at p. ___ [180 L.Ed.2d at p. 781] (conc. opn. of Breyer, J.); see World-Wide Volkswagen Corp. v. Woodson, supra, 444 U.S. at p. 296.)
Such an automatic rule also could not be reconciled with the constitutional demand for minimum contacts and purposeful availment: "A rule like the New Jersey Supreme Court's would permit every State to assert jurisdiction in a products-liability suit against any domestic manufacturer who sells its products (made anywhere in the United States) to a national distributor, no matter how large or small the manufacturer, no matter how distant the forum, and no matter how few the number of items that end up in the particular forum at issue. What might appear fair in the case of a large manufacturer which specifically seeks, or expects, an equal-sized distributor to sell its product in a distant State might seem unfair in the case of a small manufacturer (say, an Appalachian potter) who sells his product (cups and saucers) exclusively to a large distributor, who resells a single item (a coffee mug) to a buyer from a distant State (Hawaii). I know too little about the range of these or in-between possibilities to abandon in favor of the more absolute rule what has previously been this Court's less absolute approach. [¶] Further, the fact that the defendant is a foreign, rather than a domestic, manufacturer makes the basic fairness of an absolute rule yet more uncertain. I am again less certain than is the New Jersey Supreme Court that the nature of international commerce has changed so significantly as to require a new approach to personal jurisdiction." (J. McIntyre, supra, 564 U.S. at p. ___ [180 L.Ed.2d at p. 781] (conc. opn. of Breyer, J.).)
"Where, as here, `"no conflict in the evidence exists ... the question of jurisdiction is purely one of law and the reviewing court engages in an independent review of the record."' (Vons, at p. 449.)" (Snowney, supra, 35 Cal.4th at p. 1062.)
All of Dow Canada's contacts were with Canada. At all relevant times, Union Carbide Canada manufactured the fuel tanks exclusively in Canada. It sold the fuel tanks to Bombardier exclusively in Canada pursuant to purchase orders made in Canada. Bombardier manufactured its personal watercraft in Canada.
Union Carbide Canada, including Wedco, never had a registered agent in California, never qualified to do business in California, never manufactured any products in California, never had any employees, offices, or facilities in California, and never advertised or sold any personal watercraft fuel tanks or fuel tank filler necks in California.
Dow Canada is a Canadian corporation with its principal place of business in Canada. It has never had an agent for service of process in California, never qualified to do business in California, never manufactured any products in California, never had any employees, officers or other facilities in California, and never advertised or sold products in California or to customers in California.
At oral argument, Bombardier asserted this case was governed by People ex rel. Harris v. Native Wholesale Supply Co. (2011) 196 Cal.App.4th 357 [126 Cal.Rptr.3d 257] (Harris), but that case is distinguishable. In Harris, this court determined a tribal-chartered corporation headquartered on an Indian reservation in New York was subject to California's personal jurisdiction. In violation of state law, the corporation since 2003 had sold over 300 million cigarettes manufactured in Canada to an Indian tribe located near
Bombardier claims Dow Canada knew when it contracted to provide the fuel tanks in the 1990's that they would be used in personal watercraft that would be sold in California. That may be so, but it would still not provide sufficient minimum contacts with California. One principle a majority of the United States Supreme Court has agreed upon is that mere knowledge, without something more, is insufficient to establish jurisdiction in a forum state.
In an attempt to prove that "something more," Bombardier asks us to make findings of fact under our discretionary authority provided by Code of Civil Procedure section 909 or to take judicial notice of evidence. It claims J. McIntyre stands for the proposition that "an intended regular flow of a significant volume of a foreign manufacturer's product into a particular forum state will trigger personal jurisdiction." To establish Dow Canada's fuel tanks were such a flow, Bombardier seeks to admit the declarations which the trial court refused to admit, as well as evidence derived from discovery responses and deposition testimony obtained after the trial court quashed service of summons, to have us establish two factual findings: (1) Dow Canada knew in the 1990's the fuel tanks would be installed in personal watercraft to be sold and used in California, and (2) from 1995 to 1998, more than 43,000 Bombardier personal watercrafts containing Dow Canada fuel tanks were sold to California residents.
We also will not consider the additional evidence Bombardier obtained after the trial court quashed service. All of the additional evidence Bombardier seeks to introduce could have been obtained before the trial court
Bombardier implies the evidence was not relevant until J. McIntyre was decided, holding, in Bombardier's opinion, that an intended regular flow of business into the forum state is sufficient to establish minimum contacts. As already explained, however, J. McIntyre did not so hold. Certainly the plurality opinion reached no such conclusion, and Justice Breyer's concurring opinion refused to decide the issue, as the facts in that case did not concern a regular flow of business into the forum state.
Here, no exceptional circumstances exist to justify making factual determinations. As just stated, the trial court did not abuse its discretion in refusing to admit the out-of-state declarations and the additional evidence could have been submitted timely but was not.
Furthermore, making the requested findings would not end this litigation. Rather, it would allow the litigation to proceed based on facts never placed before the trial court. We will not overrule the trial court's factfinding responsibility and authority and reinstate litigation where it was a party who failed to bring the facts to the trial court's attention in the first instance.
Even if we were to consider the evidence Bombardier seeks to have us admit, it would not change our decision. The facts of this case are more akin to the facts in Asahi, where a majority of the court determined jurisdiction did not exist. Justice O'Connor reached that conclusion because Asahi lacked minimum contacts by doing nothing more than sell its product to the Taiwanese manufacturer (Asahi, supra, 480 U.S. at pp. 112-113), and Justice Brennan reached the same conclusion because it would be unfair to hale a foreign manufacturer of a part sold in a foreign country into a California court to resolve a claim for indemnity. (Id. at pp. 116-119.) These same
Finally, we note Bombardier is not left without an avenue for relief. Bombardier has initiated litigation against Dow Canada in Quebec, Canada, that addresses the same claims it sought to raise in this action, including a claim for indemnification.
The order quashing service of process is affirmed. Costs on appeal are awarded to Dow Canada. (Cal. Rules of Court, rule 8.278(a).)
Robie, J., and Hoch, J., concurred.