Plaintiffs-appellants Heritage House Restaurants, Heritage House Smorgasbord of Oklahoma City, and Heritage House of Indianapolis (hereafter collectively “Heritage House”) appeal from the district court’s dismissal of their second amended complaint for lack of personal jurisdiction over defendant-appellee Continental Funding Group, Inc. (Continental). For the reasons stated below, we reverse.
I
BACKGROUND
Heritage House’s second amended complaint and the three affidavits it submitted to the district court established the following facts relevant to the issue of jurisdiction: Appellants are two limited partnerships and a corporation which is a general partner in both limited partnerships. The corporation and both partnerships were established under the laws of Illinois and have their principal place of business in Illinois. Heritage House’s complaint states four counts against Continental: nеgligent misrepresentation, breach of contract, agency liability, and a violation of the Illinois Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act. Heritage House Restaurants, Inc. (the corporation) invests money for the two limited partnerships. In May, 1984, the comptroller of the corporation, Joseph Kula, received a letter, at Heritage House’s office in Springfield, Illinois, from Continental, 1 offering to assist Heritage House in finding high yield rates for their funds аnd depositing their monies in such accounts. According to the letter, when a company has available funds for deposit, it telephones Continental (at a toll-free number) to receive the latest rates, and Continental gives the company the name of a bank and instructions for wiring the money to that bank. Kula answered the letter with a request for references. Continental soon after mailed these references to Kula in Illinois. Continental listed four Illinois orgаnizations as references, and, upon calling these entities, Kula learned that they all used Continental for investment advice. For a little over a year from that time, Kula used the services of Continental to receive information on interest rates. Kula then left his employment with Heritage House.
Soon after Kula left Heritage House, Continental contacted the senior accountant of Heritage House Restaurants, Inc., Valerie Ausmus,
2
to inquire whether Heritage House wanted to renew two certificates of deposit (one for each of the limited partnerships) that were on deposit at Guaranty Savings & Loan in Arkansas. Aus-mus had not contacted Continental prior to this occasion. During this conversation, Ausmus told Continental that, rather than renewing the deposits at their current amounts of $100,000, Heritage House could only renew them at $75,000 each. Continental informed her that it did not handle deposits of less than $100,000, but that Heritage House could combine the certificates into one $150,000 deposit. After discussing the transaction with her superiors, Ausmus called Continental to inquire whether a $150,000 deposit would be insured, and was informed that payment would be guaranteed because the Savings & Loan collateralized any deposit over $100,000 with its securities. Continental also stated that it had other clients with deposits larger than $100,000 at that bank
Approximately one month later, the Savings & Loan was declared insolvent and placed in receivership for liquidation by the Federal Savings and Loan Insurance Corporation (FSLIC). Ausmus called Continental to inquire into the matter and was told there would be no problems with repayment. When Heritage House was reimbursed for its deposit, it received only $100,000, which was the amount insured by the FSLIC. The remaining $50,719.18 balance is the subject of this action.
II
ANALYSIS
In diversity cases, federal district courts have personal jurisdiction over parties when a court of the state in which the district court sits has personal jurisdiction.
See Turnock v. Cope,
(a) Any person, whether or not a citizen or resident of this State, who in person or through an agent does any of the acts hereinafter enumerated, thereby submits such person ... to the jurisdiction of the courts of this State as to any cause of action arising from the doing of such acts:
(1) The transaction of any business within this State;
(2) The commission of a tortious act within this State;
sji • j}¡ :j! .•);
(c) Only causes of action arising from acts enumerated herein may be asserted against a defendant in an action in which jurisdiction over him or her is based upon this Section.
Ill.Rev.Stat. ch. 110, ¶ 2-209(a, c).
4
Each cause of action alleged must independently arise from one of the enumerated acts.
Club Assistance Program, Inc. v. Zukerman,
A. Illinois Long-Arm Statute
1. § 2-209(a)(l): transacting business in Illinois
The district court held
5
that the initial mailing Continental sent to Heritage
To be subject to § 2-209(a)(l), the nonresident defendant must have transacted business which gives rise to the cause of action alleged by plaintiff.
See
Ill.Rev. Stat. ch. 110, ¶ 2-209(c);
J. Walker & Sons v. DeMert & Dougherty, Inc.,
A defendant transacts business in Illinois when substantial performance of contractual duties is to be rendered in Illinois or when a defendant invokes the benefits and protections of Illinois law in the contractual relationship. When a contract which is the basis of plaintiffs claim was entered into in Illinois, the defendant’s Illinois activities can suffice to sustain jurisdiction. Nonetheless, the determination of whether a defendant sufficiently transacted business in Illinois requires consideration of several factors including, who initiated the transaсtion; where the contract was entered into; and where the performance of the contract was to take place.
Arthur Young & Co.,
The physical presence of a defendant in Illinois during the transaction is not necessary to obtain jurisdiction under the long-arm statute.
See J. Walker & Sons,
Second, we also conclude that this course of dealing clearly relates to the causes of action of breach of contract and agency liability.
7
To establish jurisdiction, the claim must
“
‘lie[ ] in the wake of the commercial activities by which [the] defendant submitted to the jurisdiction of Illinois courts.’ ”
Deluxe Ice Cream Co.,
2. § 2-209(a)(2): commission of tortious act in Illinois
The district court found that no tortious act was committed in Illinois, and that, if any tort was committed, it was in New York (Continental’s place of business) or Arkansas (the location of the deposit) and not in Illinois. This holding was based on the court’s application of the last act doctrine, which was applied in
Green v. Advance Ross Elecs. Corp.,
In order to sustain jurisdiction based on the commission of a tortious act in Illinois, the plaintiff must allege that the defendant performed an act or omission which caused an injury in Illinois, and that the act or omission was tortious in nature. Alternatively, the requirements of the tortious act provision of the long-arm statute may be met if plaintiff demonstrates an economic injury in Illinois coupled with activity indicating an intent to affect Illinois interests.
Arthur Young & Co.,
We recently decided a case similar to the one before us now and believe that the result and reasoning in that case control this action. In
FMC Corp. v. Varonos,
The tort allеged by Heritage House to have occurred in Illinois was Continental’s misrepresentation that the entire amount of the $150,000 deposit would be secured for repayment, which relates to the misrepresentation cause of action and the alleged violation of the Illinois Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act. The misrepresentations occurred during telephone conversations initiated by Continental and placed to Heritage Hоuse in Illinois. Furthermore, Heritage House relied upon the misrepresentations in Illinois. The acts by Continental clearly evidenced an intent to affect an Illinois interest, because Continental knew that Heritage House was an Illinois corporation investing money for two Illinois limited partnerships.
The district court apparently believed that because Heritage House did not suffer an economic loss until the Savings & Loan was declared insolvent, and becausе that event occurred in Arkansas, that Arkansas was the situs of the tort. We respectfully disagree.
9
We have noted that “[a]n Illinois court does not acquire jurisdiction under the ‘last act’ doctrine simply because an economic loss is felt in Illinois when all conduct contributing to the injury occurred outside Illinois.”
Turnock,
This does not mean that Illinois jurisdiction is available to every Illinois resident who incurs a loss because of the actions of a nonresident. In this case, it is the communications from the nonresident to Illinois that form the basis for jurisdiction, a situation that is under the control of the nonresident defendant, not the Illinois plaintiff.
B. Constitutional Due Process Requirement
Even where jurisdiction exists under applicable state law, the exercise of that jurisdiction will violate the requirements of due process if the defendant has not “purposefully established ‘minimum contacts’ in the forum State,”
Burger King Corp. v. Rudzewicz,
The district court concluded that it would be unreasonable to subject Continental to the jurisdiction of an Illinois court because it believed the most important factor in this analysis was that Continental was nevеr physically present in Illinois while transacting business with Heritage House. We have held that in contract cases the defendant’s presence in the state to conduct business is a
relevant
consideration.
See Deluxe Ice Cream Co.,
The main factor in the minimum contacts due process analysis is not physical presence in the forum state but rather “foreseeability.” The district court recognized this as a factor, but believed that Continental could not have reasonably foreseen that it would be haled into an Illinois court. The Supreme Court has stated that “the foreseeability that is critical to the due process analysis ... is that the defendant’s conduct and connection with the forum State are such that he should reasonably anticipate being haled into court there.”
World-Wide Volkswagen Corp. v. Woodson,
Continental purposefully availed itself of a business transaсtion with an Illinois corporation located and doing business in Illinois. One relevant inquiry is which party initiated the business transaction.
Madison Consulting,
After a court determines that the defendant has established minimum contacts with the forum state, it may also consider the relative convenience of litigating in that forum and the interests of the states involved.
Burger King,
Conclusion
The district court’s order granting Continental’s motion to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction is reversed, 10 and the case is remanded for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.
REVERSED AND REMANDED.
Notes
. Continental was acting at all relevant times through its agent and assistant vice-president, Sherri Gilmore.
. This, and all of the conversations between Ausmus and Continental, took place while Aus-mus was in Illinois.
.Because we hold that there was personal jurisdiction under the Illinois long-arm statute, wе need not decide whether Continental is continuously and systematically "doing business” in Illinois.
See Deluxe Ice Cream Co. v. R.C.H. Tool Corp.,
. Section (c) as it existed on September 15, 1987, when Heritage House filed its Complaint, read as provided in the text above. Effective Novembеr 23, 1987, a new section (c) was added to § 2-209, and the above quoted section (c) became section (d).
. The district court adopted the magistrate’s recommendation of dismissal, and the reasoning referred to in this opinion is taken from that recommendation order.
. While we believe there was more than a single transaction here, we note that one business transaction related to the cause of action is clearly a sufficient basis for jurisdiction.
See J. Walker & Sons v. DeMert & Dougherty, Inc.,
In
Asset Allocation and Management Co. v. Western Employers Ins. Co.,
. In the next section we will discuss other means of exercising jurisdiction over Continental for the claims of negligent misrepresentation and violation of the Illinois Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act.
. In FMC Corp., we noted that
[n]umerous cases have held that mailing money or messаges to Illinois, if accompanied by the defendant’s intent to affect Illinois interests, satisfies section 2-209’s requirements. See Club Assistance,594 F.Supp. at 347 & n. 9 (citing cases). Similarly, telephone calls between an Illinois plaintiff and a nonresident defendant, if coupled with this intent, also satisfy the long-arm statute. See id. at 347 & n. 10 (citing cases).
. We note that Judge Mills did not have the benefit of our decision in FMC Corp., which was decided after he issued the order in this case.
. Because we hold that the district court had jurisdiction over Continental in this action, we need not address Heritage House’s alternative claim that the district court should have deferred its dismissal for 60 days to allow Heritage House time to discover further facts supporting jurisdiction.
