TAYLOR FORGE INTERNATIONAL, INC., A TENNESSEE CORPORATION, APPELLANT,
v.
SPECIALTY MAINTENANCE & CONSTRUCTION, INC., A FLORIDA CORPORATION, APPELLEE
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Taylor Forge appealed a trial court's denial of its motion to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction. The appellate court reversed, holding that the complaint failed to allege facts sufficient to establish jurisdiction over the out-of-state defendant under Florida's long-arm statute.
The complaint fails to allege the requirements of Florida's long-arm statute necessary to exercise jurisdiction over the nonresident defendant. A complaint must allege jurisdictional facts with specificity before a court can exercise long-arm jurisdiction over a nonresident defendant.
[1] A complaint must allege with specificity the basis for long-arm jurisdiction over a nonresident defendant before a court may exercise jurisdiction.
[2] A complaint that fails to allege any of the statutory requirements for long-arm jurisdiction is insufficient to establish jurisdiction over a nonresident corporation.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“Before a court may exercise long-arm jurisdiction over a nonresident defendant, the basis for jurisdiction must be alleged with specificity in the complaint.”
Establishes the fundamental requirement that jurisdictional facts must be pleaded with specificity
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceSpecialty Maintenance, a Florida corporation, filed suit against Taylor Forge, a Tennessee corporation, in Polk County circuit court. The complaint al…
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QUINCE, Judge.
Taylor Forge International, Inc. (Taylor Forge) appeals an order of the trial court denying a motion to dismiss which alleged a lack of personal jurisdiction. We reverse because the complaint does not contain allegations sufficient to demonstrate a basis for jurisdiction over Taylor Forge.
In the complaint filed by Specialty Maintenance & Construction, Inc. (Specialty Maintenance) in the circuit court in and for Polk County, Florida, it is alleged that Taylor Forge is a corporation registered in the state of Tennessee. It was further alleged that Taylor Forge was to supply certain goods and materials to Specialty Maintenance, a Florida corporation with its principal place of business in Polk County, and that Taylor Forge breached the agreement by failing to deliver the goods and materials. No other jurisdictional allegations are in the complaint.
Specialty Maintenance served the complaint on Taylor Forge at its place of business in Knoxville, Tennessee, pursuant to section 48.193, Florida Statutes (1993). Taylor Forge filed its motion to dismiss asserting no contacts with the state of Florida and no allegations in the complaint to provide a basis for the exercise of jurisdiction. At the hearing on the motion to dismiss, the trial court implicitly acknowledged the deficiency of the complaint when it ruled Specialty Maintenance could amend the complaint but erred by denying Taylor Forge’s motion to dismiss.
Before a court may exercise long-arm jurisdiction over a nonresident defendant, the basis for jurisdiction must be alleged with specificity in the complaint. Doe v. Thompson, 620 So. 2d 1004 (Fla.1993); Bower v. C.J. Timm Investment Co., 630 So. 2d 678 (Fla. 2d DCA 1994). The complaint in this instance does not allege any of the requirements of section 48.193 that would allow the Florida courts to exercise jurisdiction over a nonresident corporation. This complaint does not even make .a bare allegation that Taylor Forge is doing business in the state. Because the complaint fails to allege the basis for long-arm jurisdiction, the trial court should have granted Taylor Forge’s motion to dismiss. Since it is clear that the trial court wanted to give Specialty Maintenance an opportunity to amend, the dismissal should be without prejudice to the filing of an amended complaint within a time period specified by the trial court. If Taylor Forge adequately challenges jurisdiction over its person after the amended complaint has been filed, Specialty Maintenance will need to prove jurisdiction as explained in Venetian Salami Co. v. Parthenais, 554 So. 2d 499 (Fla.1989).
We, therefore, reverse the trial court’s denial of the motion to dismiss and remand for further proceedings.
PARKER, A.C.J., and ALTENBERND, J., concur.
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Sunrise Assisted Living, Inc. v. Ward, 719 So. 2d 1218 (Fla. 2d DCA 1998)…urts of this state. Before a court may exercise long-arm jurisdiction over a nonresident defendant, the basis for jurisdiction must be alleged with specificity in the complaint. See Taylor Forge Int’l, Inc., v. Specialty Maintenance & Constr., Inc., 685 So. 2d 1360 (Fla. 2d DCA 1996). The basis for service on a nonresident defendant may be set forth in the language of the statute rather than by reference to the facts supporting the same. See Avila v. Pacindat Mut. Protection & Indem. Ass’n, Ltd., 528 So. 2d 51…
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Uldis Celmins v. Am. ON Line & Steven Case, 748 So. 2d 1041 (Fla. 2d DCA 1999)…because we find that Celmins failed to plead a basis for personal jurisdiction over Case, we concur with the trial court’s dismissal for lack of personal jurisdiction over Case. See Taylor Forge Int’l, Inc. v. Specialty Maintenance & Constr., Inc., 685 So. 2d 1360, 1361 (Fla. 2d DCA 1996). Affirmed. PARKER, C.J., and NORTHCUTT, J., and SCHEB, JOHN M., (Senior) Judge, Concur.…
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Wallack v. Worldwide Mach. Sales, Inc., 278 F. Supp. 2d 1358 (M.D. Fla. 2003)…Braunstein, 549 So.2d 797 (Fla. 5th DCA 1989). Plaintiffs bear the burden of alleging sufficient facts to establish the application of the long-arm statute. See Taylor Forge International, Inc. v. Specialty Maintenance & Construction, Inc., 685 So.2d 1360, 1361 (Fla. 2nd DCA 1996). Section 48.193(2), Fla. Stat., addresses the court’s ability to exercise general jurisdiction over a non-resident defendant. There are two types of personal jurisdiction: specific and general. General per *1366 s…
Authorities Cited
- Venetian Salami Co. v. J.S. Parthenais, 554 So. 2d 499 (Fla. 1989)
- DOE v. Jere William Thompson, 620 So. 2d 1004 (Fla. 1993)
- Bower v. C.J. Timm Inv. Co., 630 So. 2d 678 (Fla. 2d DCA 1994)