812 F.3d 571
7th Cir.2016Background
- Vanessa Noboa, an Illinois resident, booked and paid for a stay at Barceló Los Cabos Palace Deluxe through Orbitz while in Illinois.
- While at the hotel in Mexico, Noboa signed up in the hotel lobby for an off-premises ecotour run by Rancho Carisuva.
- Noboa died when an all-terrain vehicle on that tour overturned; plaintiffs (Noboa’s estate executors) sued Rancho Carisuva and Barceló Corporación Empresarial under diversity jurisdiction.
- Plaintiffs allege Barceló owned/operated the hotel; Barceló denies ownership and both defendants have no business contacts with Illinois.
- Plaintiffs conceded no general jurisdiction exists in Illinois and instead asserted specific jurisdiction based on Noboa’s Illinois contacts (booking via Orbitz), alleging a causal chain linking the injury to Illinois.
- The district court declined to exercise personal jurisdiction over either defendant; the Seventh Circuit affirmed.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whether Illinois has specific jurisdiction over Rancho Carisuva and Barceló for Noboa's wrongful-death claim | Noboa's booking and payment from Illinois (via Orbitz), and Barceló’s contract with Orbitz, set in motion a chain that led to the fatal tort, so Illinois may assert specific jurisdiction | Defendants had no intentional contacts with Illinois related to the tort; plaintiffs rely on plaintiff/third-party contacts, not defendants’ forum-directed conduct | No specific jurisdiction: contacts are too attenuated and not defendant-directed |
| Whether a defendant’s relationship to an intermediary (Orbitz/travel agent) that had forum contacts suffices for jurisdiction | Intermediary’s forum contacts (Orbitz) tie defendants to Illinois via the booking chain | Intermediary actions are not defendant actions; jurisdiction requires defendant’s own forum-directed conduct | Intermediary’s actions cannot substitute for defendant’s lack of forum contacts |
| Whether long causal chains from plaintiff’s forum contacts can establish jurisdiction | A causal chain from plaintiff’s forum-based acts to the injury suffices | Supreme Court requires defendant’s intentional forum contacts; causal chains from plaintiff do not meet that test | Causal-chain theory rejected as inconsistent with Walden and related precedents |
| Whether plaintiffs can sue in Illinois despite foreign locus of tort and foreign-defendant status | Illinois is a proper forum because plaintiff’s injury traces back to Illinois contacts | Tort occurred abroad and defendants lacked forum contacts; alternative fora (Mexico, maybe Spain) are appropriate | Illinois is not an available forum under due-process limits on specific jurisdiction |
Key Cases Cited
- Goodyear Dunlop Tires Operations, S.A. v. Brown, 564 U.S. 915 (discussing general vs. specific jurisdiction)
- Walden v. Fiore, 571 U.S. 277 (specific jurisdiction requires defendant’s own forum-directed contacts)
- Daimler AG v. Bauman, 571 U.S. 117 (limits on general jurisdiction over foreign corporations)