W.C.T.U. RAILWAY COMPANY, APPELLANT,
v.
JOSEPHINE SZILAGYI, AS PERSONAL REPRESENTATIVE OF THE ESTATE OF BRUCE W. SZILAGYI, APPELLEE
AI-generated. These summaries, headnotes, and key points are machine-generated and may contain errors or omissions. Always verify against the full opinion text below. Not legal advice.
WCTU Railway Company, an Oregon corporation operating only in Oregon with one boxcar incidentally present in Florida due to a lease arrangement, appealed the denial of its motion to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction. The court reversed, holding that the plaintiff failed to establish jurisdiction under Florida's long-arm statute because the defendant's minimal contact with Florida—a single leased boxcar involved in an accident—did not constitute doing business in the state.
The court held that Florida courts lack personal jurisdiction over WCTU because the defendant failed to establish that WCTU engaged in business activities in Florida under section 48.181, and the jurisdictional requirements of section 48.193(1)(f)(2) were not satisfied, as WCTU neither manufactured nor serviced the boxcar and had relinquished possession months before the accident.
[1] Florida's long-arm jurisdiction statutes are strictly construed.
[2] A plaintiff must allege sufficient jurisdictional facts to establish a basis for Florida courts to exercise jurisdiction over a nonresident defendant.
Previewing 2 of 6 headnotes on this case. FLexlaw’s editorially structured points of law — every proposition, pinpointed — are reserved for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“A plaintiff must allege sufficient jurisdictional facts in his or her complaint to establish a basis for Florida courts to exercise jurisdiction over a nonconsenting, nonresident defendant.”
Establishes the foundational requirement that a plaintiff must plead jurisdictional facts to invoke Florida's long-arm jurisdiction.
Previewing 1 of 3 key quotes on this case — the court’s exact language, pinpointed for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceWCTU is an Oregon corporation employing nine people and operating fourteen miles of railroad in Oregon only, with no offices outside that state. WCTU …
The full statement of facts, procedural history, and disposition for this case are member content.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence© FLexlaw, Inc. — AI-generated enrichments are proprietary. All rights reserved.
Explore caselaw by topic → Browse Jurisdictional Facts cases and more on FLexlaw
PER CURIAM.
W.C.T.U. Railway Company (WCTU) appeals the trial court’s non-final order denying its motion to dismiss Josephine Szila-gyi’s complaint for lack of personal jurisdiction. We reverse the trial court’s order because Szilagyi failed to establish that WCTU is subject to the jurisdiction of the courts of Florida under Florida’s long-arm jurisdiction statute, specifically sections 48.181 and 48.193, Florida Statutes (1983).
At the outset we observe that under Florida law the long-arm statute is to be strictly construed. Wm. E. Strasser Constr. Corp. v. Linn, 97 So. 2d 458, 459 (Fla.1957); Bank of Wessington v. Winters Gov’t Secs. Corp., 361 So. 2d 757, 759 (Fla. 4th DCA 1978); Chase Manhattan Bank, N.A. v. Banco Del Atlantico, F.A., 343 So. 2d 936, 937 (Fla. 3d DCA 1977); Lyster v. Round, 276 So. 2d 186, 188 (Fla. 1st DCA), cert. denied, 283 So. 2d 105 (Fla. 1973). A plaintiff must allege sufficient jurisdictional facts in his or her complaint to establish a basis for Florida courts to exercise jurisdiction over a nonconsenting, nonresident defendant. Electro Eng’g Prods. Co., v. Lewis, 352 So. 2d 862, 864 (Fla.1977); see Linn; Caribe & Panama Invs., S.A., v. Christensen, 375 So. 2d 601 (Fla. 3d DCA 1979); Bank of Wessington; Chase Manhatten Bank, N.A.; Lyster. A defendant challenging the jurisdiction of the court must then make a prima facie showing that the long-arm jurisdiction asserted is improper. Once the defendant makes the prima facie showing, the burden shifts to the plaintiff to prove the jurisdictional allegations asserted in the complaint. Lewis; Aminoff & Co. v. Storrington Corp., 503 So. 2d 1290, 1292 (Fla. 2d DCA 1987); Phoenix Trimming, Inc. v. Mowday, 431 So. 2d 198, 200 (Fla. 4th DCA), review denied, 440 So. 2d 352 (Fla.1983); Compania Anonima Simantob v. Bank of Am. Int'l, 373 So. 2d 68, 71 (Fla. 3d DCA 1979), cert. denied, 383 So. 2d 1192 (Fla. 1980).
A plaintiff may only invoke the court’s jurisdiction over a nonresident defendant by means of substituted service pursuant to section 48.181, Florida Statutes (1983), when the defendant engages in business activities within the state. According to the undisputed allegations, WCTU is an Oregon corporation which employs nine people and operates fourteen miles of rail road in Oregon, but which has no offices outside of that state. WCTU owns 2010 railroad boxcars which it leases to other railroad companies by means of multilateral agreements. Many of the nation’s railroad companies are signatories to the agreement which permits the boxcars to be continuously subleased and to move freely around the nation’s rail system without the knowledge, supervision or control of the owner. The lease agreement requires the railroad carrier in possession of a boxcar to maintain or repair it, should this become necessary. According to the facts before this court, WCTU’s only contact with the State of Florida is that one of its boxcars, under a lease to another railroad company, ended up in this state and was involved in an accident. It is obvious that such contact does not amount “to operatpng], conducting], engagpng] in, or carrying] on a business or business venture in the state....” § 48.181(1), Fla.Stat. (1983); cf. Community Suffolk, Inc. v. Denver & Rio Grande W. R.R., 475 F.Supp. 443 (D.Mass. 1979) (railroad company, the initial carrier in shipment bound for Massachusetts whose railcars occasionally entered Massachusetts while leased to other carriers, lacked sufficient contacts to subject it to personal jurisdiction pursuant to Massachusetts’ long-arm jurisdiction statute); Lyster, 276 So. 2d at 188 (“An isolated act which from any objective viewpoint could not be held to constitute the operation, conduct, engagement in or carrying on of a business or business venture is not sufficient to activate the Pong-arm] statute.”).
Once WCTU made a prima facie showing in its motion to dismiss that it conducts no business in the state, has no offices or agents in Florida, see § 48.181(2), Fla.Stat. (1983), and did not lease the boxcar through any broker, jobber, wholesaler or distributor to “any person, firm, or corporation” in Florida, § 48.181(3), the burden shifted to Szilagyi to prove the jurisdictional allegations of her complaint. See Lewis 352 So. 2d at 864; Phoenix Trimming, Inc., 431 So. 2d at 200; Compania Anonima Simantob, 373 So. 2d at 71. Since Szilagyi offered no proof but chose instead to rely upon her complaint, she failed to satisfy that burden. See Sims v. Sutton, 451 So. 2d 931, 931 (Fla.3d DCA 1984) (“In the face of a meritorious challenge by way of a motion to quash service of process and abate for lack of personal jurisdiction supported by affidavits, the plaintiff has to prove jurisdiction over the person by opposing affidavits, testimony or documents.”). Consequently, the trial court erred in denying WCTU’s motion to quash the service of process made in accordance with section 48.161, Florida Statutes (1983), pursuant to section 48.181.
In assessing Szilagyi’s alternative claim, that the court may properly exercise jurisdiction over WCTU under section 48.-193(l)(f)(2), Florida Statutes (1983), the analysis and result is the same. Under that section, the court has jurisdiction over a nonresident who
caus[es] injury to persons or property within this state arising out of an act or omission by the defendant outside this state, if, at or about the time of the injury,
* * # * # *
(2.) [products, materials, or things processed, serviced, or manufactured by the defendant anywhere were used or consumed within this state in the ordinary course of commerce, trade, or use.
§ 48.193(l)(f)(2), Fla.Stat. (1983). In response to the allegations in Szilagyi’s complaint, WCTU made what amounted to a prima facie showing that the jurisdiction alleged under section 48.193(l)(f)(2) was improper. WCTU submitted affidavits and deposition testimony which proved not only that WCTU did not produce, manufacture, or service the boxcar but also that the boxcar had been interchanged among eight different railroad companies during the four months period between the time WCTU last had the boxcar in its possession and the time of the accident. Having made a prima facie showing, the burden shifted back to Szilagyi to prove the jurisdictional allegations of her complaint. See Lewis 352 So. 2d at 864; Phoenix Trimming, Inc., 431 So. 2d at 200; Compania Anonima Simantob, 373 So. 2d at 71. Since Szilagyi relied solely upon her complaint to support jurisdiction under this section as well, and did not present any evidence, she failed to meet that burden. Consequently, the court should have granted WCTU’s motion to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction under section 48.193(l)(f)(2).
Since Szilagyi failed to meet her burden of proving the jurisdictional allegations of her complaint after WCTU had made a prima facie showing that the jurisdiction asserted under both sections 48.181 and 48.193, Florida Statutes (1983), was improper, the trial court erred in denying WCTU’s motion to quash service and dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction. Accordingly, the trial court’s order is reversed.1
. Our decision makes it unnecessary to address WCTU’s contention that Szilagyi failed to properly effect service of process upon it. Furthermore, because our decision hinges on appellee’s failure to prove the jurisdictional allegations of her complaint in response to WCTU’s motion to dismiss rather than on any failure to allege sufficient jurisdictional facts in her complaint, we do not deem it appropriate to afford Szilagyi the opportunity to amend her complaint.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By
-
Ranger Nationwide, Inc. v. Cook, 519 So. 2d 1087 (Fla. 3d DCA 1988)…ruck ownership and brokerage business, which did not involve maintaining any employees, property or office in Florida at all since at least 1984 and from which it derived less than one percent of its total gross revenue. See W.C.T.U Ry. v. Szilagyi, 511 So. 2d 727 (Fla. 3d DCA 1987) (defendant whose boxcars foreseeably entered Florida as part of its nationwide business not subject to Florida jurisdiction upon Florida accident involving one of its cars). These contacts fall far short of the “continuous and sy…
-
Blumberg v. Steve Weiss & Co., Inc., 922 So. 2d 361 (Fla. 3d DCA 2006)…uing the statute in favor of non-resident defendants. Wendt, 822 So. 2d at 1256; Venetian Salami, 554 So. 2d at 502; Pluess-Staufer Indus., Inc. v. Rollason Eng’g & Mfg., Inc., 635 So. 2d 1070, 1072 (Fla. 5th DCA 1994); W.C.T.U. Ry. Co. v. Szilagyi, 511 So. 2d 727, 728 (Fla. 3d DCA 1987). Second, if the long-arm statute is applicable, the court must determine whether sufficient minimum contacts exist between Florida and the defendant to satisfy due process requirements. Wendt, 822 So. 2d at 1256; Venetian Sal…
-
Lester v. ARB, 658 So. 2d 583 (Fla. 3d DCA 1995)…llerito Foods, Inc. v. American Conveyors Corp., 542 So. 2d 426 (Fla. 3d DCA 1989); Renda v. Peoples Fed. Sav. & Loan Ass’n of Tarentum, Pa., 538 So. 2d 860, 862 (Fla. 1st DCA 1988), rev. denied, 542 So. 2d 1334 (Fla.1989); W.C.T.U. Ry. v. Szilagyi, 511 So. 2d 727, 728 (Fla. 3d DCA 1987). Affirmed.3 HUBBART and BASKIN, JJ., concur. . The defendant's motion to dismiss states the following: "MOTION TO DISMISS FOR LACK OF JURISDICTION COMES NOW Defendant, KENT LESTER, through the undersigned counsel and mak…
Previewing 3 of 7 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited (12 total)
- WM. E. Strasser Constr. Corp. v. Linn, 97 So. 2d 458 (Fla. 1957)
- Electro Eng'g Prods. Co., Inc. v. Lewis, 352 So. 2d 862 (Fla. 1977)
- Bank OF Wessington & Arnold Domke v. Winters Gov't Sec. Corp., 361 So. 2d 757 (Fla. 4th DCA 1978)
- Sturgis C. Lyster v. Thornton E. Round, 276 So. 2d 186 (Fla. 1st DCA 1973)
- Caribe & Panama Invs. v. Lauge Christensen, 375 So. 2d 601 (Fla. 3d DCA 1979)
- Compania Anonima Simantob v. Bank OF Am. Int'l OF Fla., 373 So. 2d 68 (Fla. 3d DCA 1979)
- Chase Manhattan Bank, N.A. v. Banco del Atlantico, 343 So. 2d 936 (Fla. 3d DCA 1977)
- Alvan E. Boutin v. The City OF Miami, 431 So. 2d 198 (Fla. 3d DCA 1983)
- Sims v. Sutton, 451 So. 2d 931 (Fla. 3d DCA 1984)
- State of Fla. ex rel. Robert Shevin v. Sepe, 283 So. 2d 105 (Fla. 1973)