GLOBAL SERVICIOS, S.A., APPELLANT,
v.
TOPLIS & HARDING, INC., ET AL., APPELLEES
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Global Servicios, a Colombian corporation, appeals from an order denying its motion to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction in a subrogation action arising from damaged household goods. The court reversed, finding that Global lacked sufficient minimum contacts with Florida to subject it to jurisdiction, as its only connection to Florida was the fortuitous passage of goods through Miami as a port of entry.
The court reversed, holding that Global lacked the minimum contacts with Florida necessary to subject it to jurisdiction under both Florida's long-arm statute and the Due Process Clause. Global's only connection to Florida—the passage of goods through Miami as a port of entry—was merely fortuitous and insufficient to establish jurisdiction.
[1] A Florida court lacks personal jurisdiction over a foreign corporation when the corporation's contacts with Florida are merely fortuitous and do not meet the requirements…
[2] A foreign corporation's execution of a contract and packing of goods in a foreign country, even if the goods are subsequently transported through Florida, does not establ…
Previewing 2 of 4 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“to render nonresident defendant subject to jurisdiction of Florida court, statutory requirements of long-arm statute and minimum contacts requirement must be met”
Establishes the dual requirement for jurisdiction over nonresidents: both statutory compliance and constitutional minimum contacts
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceGlobal, a Colombian corporation, contracted with Leonard Rubin in Colombia to pack and forward household goods. Global packed the goods in Bogota, whi…
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PER CURIAM.
Global Servicios, S.A., [Global] appeals from a non-final order denying its motion to dismiss for lack of in personam jurisdiction or to quash service of process. For the following reasons, we reverse.
Global is a Colombian corporation with its principal place of business in Bogota, Colombia. Global contracted with Leonard Rubin in Colombia to pack and forward for transport various household goods. The goods were packed in Colombia by Global, flown to Miami by Lineas Aereas del Car-ibe [LAC], stored in Miami by Inter-American, and trucked to New Jersey by Pride Movers, Inc. Somewhere between Bogota and New Jersey the goods were damaged. Rubin’s insurer paid him over $23,000 for the damage, and then, in a subrogation action, sued Global, Inter-American, and Pride Movers. Service was effected upon Global pursuant to section 48.161, Florida Statutes (1987).
Global moved to dismiss the action on the grounds that it was not subject to the jurisdiction of a Florida court under Florida’s long-arm statute, section 48.193, Florida Statutes. Global further alleged that plaintiff had failed to comply with the strict mandate of section 48.161 and that service was therefore defective.1 The trial court denied the motion. Because Global did not engage in any of the acts enumerated in section 48.193, and because Global lacked the minimum contacts with Florida necessary to subject it to the jurisdiction of a Florida court, we reverse.
Even though the parties conducted significant discovery on the question of Global’s activities in Florida, the record fails to establish that Global had any contacts with Florida that meet the requirements of the long-arm statute or the due process requirements of the United States Constitution. See Venetian Salami Co. v. Parthenais, 554 So. 2d 499 (Fla.1989) (to render nonresident defendant subject to jurisdiction of Florida court, statutory requirements of long-arm statute and minimum contacts requirement must be met).
Global executed the contract with Rubin in Bogota and packed the goods in Bogota. Preparation of all shipping documents took place in Bogota. Because Miami is the port of entry for air cargo from Colombia, Global’s contact with Florida was merely fortuitous and was made yet more tenuous by LAC’s air transport of the goods from Bogota to Miami and by Inter-American’s storage of the goods once they reached Miami.2 The trial court, therefore, lacked jurisdiction over Global, and erred in denying Global’s motion to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction. See Joyce Bros. Storage & Van Co. v. Piechalak, 343 So. 2d 97 (Fla. 3d DCA 1977) (moving company that executed contract in Illinois, transported goods from Illinois to Florida but breached contract in Illinois by misstating value of goods not subject to jurisdiction of Florida court where company conducted and solicited no business in Florida and maintained no agent in Florida).
Reversed.
. Instead of forwarding notice of service of process by registered or certified mail, the plaintiff sent Global notice in Bogota by DHL Worldwide Express. Because we reverse on the ground that the trial court lacked jurisdiction over Global, we do not reach the issue raised by plaintiff’s questionable use of a private courier service to send notice of service of process.
. The record reveals no agency relationship between Global and Inter-American. Compare Hyco Mfg. Co. v. Rotex Int'l Corp., 355 So. 2d 471 (Fla. 3d DCA 1978) (nonresident defendant who maintains agent in Florida subject to jurisdiction of Florida court).
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BEN M. Hogan Co., Inc. v. QDA Inv. Corp., 570 So. 2d 1349 (Fla. 3d DCA 1990)…s activities. Ho [*1351] gan thus purposefully availed itself of the privilege of conducting business in Florida and must now answer for the consequences of that privilege in a Florida court. Compare Global Servicios, S.A. v. Toplis & Harding, Inc., 561 So. 2d 674 (Fla. 3d DCA 1990) (where foreign corporation’s contact with Florida merely fortuitous, personal jurisdiction did not lie). Hogan argues that, because a portion of QDA’s search for investors was conducted outside of the State of Florida, Hogan had…
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Fed. Nat'l Mortg. Ass'n v. Fandino, 751 So. 2d 752 (Fla. 3d DCA 2000)…ess international air waybills. Service of process by a private courier service does not, strictly speaking, satisfy the statutory requirement that substituted service be made by registered mail. See Global Servicios, S.A. v. Toplis & Harding, Inc., 561 So. 2d 674, 674 n. 1 (Fla. 3d DCA 1990)(suggest-ing that the use of a private courier service to send notice of service of process is “questionable”); see also generally Transco Leasing Corp. v. United States, 992 F. 2d 552, 554 n. 2 (5th Cir.1993)(admonish-in…
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Intercarga Internacional de Carga, S.A. v. The Harper Grp., Inc., 659 So. 2d 1208 (Fla. 3d DCA 1995)…it is that Intercarga did in connection with serving as an agent to freight forwarders in Miami, and thus, the complaint as to this corporation and officer was fatally insufficient. Our decision in Global Servicios, S.A. v. Toplis & Harding, Inc., 561 So. 2d 674 (Fla. 3d DCA 1990), demonstrates in a paral- [*1210] lei case that the simple trans-shipment of freight through Miami constitutes no more than a fortuitous event and cannot standing alone act as a basis for implementation of the long arm statute. In…
Authorities Cited
- Venetian Salami Co. v. J.S. Parthenais, 554 So. 2d 499 (Fla. 1989)
- Hyco Mfg. Co. v. Rotex Int'l Corp., 355 So. 2d 471 (Fla. 3d DCA 1978)
- Joyce Bros. Storage & VAN Co. v. Piechalak, 343 So. 2d 97 (Fla. 3d DCA 1977)