CAPTAIN MANJIT SANGHA v. NAVIG8 SHIPMANAGEMENT PRIVATE LIMITED
No. 17-20093
United States Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit
February 5, 2018
CARL E. STEWART, Chief Judge
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas
Before STEWART, Chief Judge, and JOLLY and OWEN, Circuit Judges.
Plaintiff-Appellant Captain Manjit Sangha (“Cpt. Sangha“) challenges both the district court‘s grant of Defendant-Appellee Navig8 Ship Management Private Limited‘s (“Navig8“) motion to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction and for forum non conveniens, and the denial of his motion to remand. We conclude that the district court did not err in dismissing Cpt. Sangha‘s claims and therefore AFFIRM.
I. BACKGROUND
Beginning in June 2009, Cpt. Sangha worked as a mooring master for Navig8 aboard the M/V Miss Claudia (“Miss Claudia“) in the Gulf of Mexico. In October 2015, while Cpt. Sangha was working as the master in command of the Miss Claudia, his vessel collided with another ship, causing damage to both vessels. After this
Several months later, Navig8 learned that Cpt. Sangha, who was then serving on board the M/V Songa Pearl (“Songa Pearl“) in his emрloyment with Marine Consulting, would soon be maneuvering in the Gulf of Mexico in a ship-to-ship transfer of bunker fuel alongside the Miss Claudia, his former vessel. That same day, Manish Gupta (“Gupta“), Navig8‘s Safety Manager, sent an email to Cpt. Sangha‘s supervisor, Captain Johannes Schild (“Schild“), informing him that Navig8 would prefer not to have Cpt. Sangha in charge of the maneuver with the Miss Claudia because “[t]he collision incident [was] still under legal/insurance proceedings.” After additional correspondence in which another Navig8 representative, Prashant Mirchandani (“Mirchandani“), explained that Navig8 only wished to use a different mooring master in all maneuvers involving the Miss Claudia, Cpt. Sangha alleges that Marine Consulting terminated his contract and removed him from the Songa Pearl in the Port of Houston.
Cpt. Sangha filed a petition for damages against Navig8 in the 129th District Court in Harris County, Texas, alleging various tort claims, including tortious interference with his contract as a mooring master with Marine Consulting.1 Navig8 removed the case from Texas state court to federal district court under
II. DISCUSSION
A. Subject-Matter Jurisdiction and Order of Determination
On appeal, Cpt. Sangha primarily contends that the district court abused its discretion by foregoing the challenge to subject-matter jurisdiction presented in his motion to remand in favor of the questions of personal jurisdiction and forum non conveniens raised in Navig8‘s motion to dismiss. We disagree.
A district court‘s decision to address non-merits matters before establishing its own subject-matter jurisdiction is reviewed for abuse of discretion. Ruhrgas AG v. Marathon Oil Co., 526 U.S. 574, 588 (1999). Although district courts generally determine their own subject-matter jurisdiction before proceeding to a determination on the merits, such a strict sequencing of consideration is not required before a court orders dismissal on non-merits grounds. Id. at 584. To that end, the Supreme Court has consistently held that “there is no mandatory ‘sequencing of jurisdictional issues.‘” Sinochem Int‘l Co. v. Malay. Int‘l Shipping, 549 U.S. 422, 431 (2007) (quoting Ruhrgas, 526 U.S. at 584). Indeed, a federal court has considerable leeway “to choose among threshold grounds for denying audience to a case on the merits.” Id. (quoting Ruhrgas, 526 U.S. at 585). The Supreme Court has expressly approved of addressing personal jurisdiction before subject-matter jurisdiction, see Ruhrgas, 526 U.S. at 584-85, and of addressing forum non conveniens before other jurisdictional issues, see Sinochem, 549 U.S. at 429.
However, neither Ruhrgas nor Sinochem change the general expectation that federаl courts address subject-matter jurisdiction at the outset in the “mine run of cases” and reach other issues first only where the jurisdictional issue is “difficult to determine” and the other grounds are relatively “less burdensome.” Sinochem, 549 U.S. at 436; accord Ruhrgas, 526 U.S. at 587-88 (stating that “expedition and sensitivity to state courts’ coequal stature should impel the federal court to dispose of [the issue of subject-matter jurisdiction] first“). That is, although federal courts normally must resolve questions of subject-matter jurisdiction before reaching other threshold issues, this rule is subject to the qualification that courts facing multiple grounds for dismissal should consider “the complexity of subject-matter jurisdiction issues raised by the case, as well as concеrns of federalism, and of judicial economy and restraint in determining whether to dismiss claims due to a lack of personal jurisdiction before considering challenges to its subject-matter jurisdiction.” Alpine View Co. Ltd. v. Atlas Copco AB, 205 F.3d 208, 213 (5th Cir. 2000).
We hold that the district court acted within its discretion in deciding the issues of personal jurisdiction and forum non conveniens before that of subject-matter jurisdiction. The distriсt court did not state that Cpt. Sangha‘s motion to remand presented particularly thorny questions. However, despite Cpt. Sangha‘s claims to the contrary, the question of subject-matter jurisdiction presented in this case—whether the saving-to-suitors clause of the federal maritime statute prohibits removal of general maritime clаims absent an independent basis for federal jurisdiction in light of Congress‘s December 2011 amendment to the federal removal statute—is not clear. The vast majority of district courts considering this question have maintained that such lawsuits are not removable. See Langlois v. Kirby Inland Marine, LP, 139 F. Supp. 3d 804, 809-10 (M.D. La. 2015) (collecting cases). However, because there is no binding precedent from this circuit, see Riverside Constr. Co., Inc. v. Entergy Miss., Inc., 626 F. App‘x 443, 447 (5th Cir. 2015) (noting that “[t]he Fifth Circuit has not yet spoken directly on this issue“), there remains a consequential number of district courts that have held to the contrary. See, e.g., Ryan v. Hercules Offshore, Inc., 945 F. Supp. 2d 772 (S.D. Tex. 2013); see also Langlois, 139 F. Supp. 3d at 809 (collecting cases). This disagreement, lopsided as it might be, highlights the conceptual difficulty of and uncertainty surrounding the issue. Accordingly,
B. Personal Jurisdiction
This court reviews de novo a district court‘s determination that it lacks personal jurisdiction. Pervasive Software, Inc. v Lexware GmbH & Co. KG, 688 F.3d 214, 219 (5th Cir. 2012) (citing Stripling v. Jordan Prod. Co., 234 F.3d 863, 869 (5th Cir. 2000)).
A non-resident defendant may move to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction. If, as here, the court rules on personal jurisdiction without conducting an еvidentiary hearing, the plaintiff bears the burden of establishing only a prima facie case of personal jurisdiction. Quick Techs., Inc. v. Sage Grp. PLC, 313 F.3d 338, 343 (5th Cir. 2002). “The district court is not obligated to consult only the assertions in the plaintiff‘s complaint in determining whether a prima facie case for jurisdiction has been made. Rather, the district court may consider the contents of the record at the time of the motion . . . .” Paz v. Brush Engineered Materials, Inc., 445 F.3d 809, 812 (5th Cir. 2006) (quoting Quick Techs., 313 F.3d at 343). “Although jurisdictional allegations must be accepted as true, such acceptance does not automatically mean that a prima facie case for [personal] jurisdiction has been presented.” Id.
There is personal jurisdiction if the state‘s long-arm statute extends to the defendant and exercise of such jurisdiction is consistent with due process. Johnston v. Multidata Sys. Int‘l Corp., 523 F.3d 602, 609 (5th Cir. 2008). “Because the Texas long-arm statute extends to the limits of federal duе process, the two-step inquiry collapses into one federal due process analysis.” Id. Due process requires that the defendant have “minimum contacts” with the forum state (i.e., that the defendant has purposely availed himself of the privilege of conducting activities within the forum state) and that exercising jurisdiction is consistent with “trаditional notions of fair play and substantial justice.” Id. (quoting Wilson v. Belin, 20 F.3d 644, 647 (5th Cir. 1994)).
“Minimum contacts” can give rise to either specific jurisdiction or general jurisdiction. Lewis v. Fresne, 252 F.3d 352, 358 (5th Cir. 2001). Specific jurisdiction may exist “over a nonresident defendant whose contacts with the forum state are singular or sporadic only if the cause of action asserted arises out of or is related to those contacts.” Int‘l Energy Ventures Mgmt., L.L.C. v. United Energy Grp., Ltd., 818 F.3d 193, 212 (5th Cir. 2016) (citing McFadin v. Gerber, 587 F.3d 753, 759 (5th Cir. 2009)). In other words, such jurisdiction exists “when a nonresident defendant has purposefully directed its activities at the forum state and the litigation results from alleged injuries that arise out of or relate to those activities.” Walk Haydel & Assocs., Inc. v. Coastal Power Prod. Co., 517 F.3d 235, 243 (5th Cir. 2008) (internal quotation marks omitted).
“[S]pecific jurisdiction is confined to adjudication of issues deriving from, or connected with, the very controversy that establishes jurisdiction.” Goodyear Dunlop Tires Operations, S.A. v. Brown, 564 U.S. 915, 919 (2011) (quotations omitted).
“A court may assert general jurisdiction over [non-resident defendants] to hear any and all claims against them when their affiliations with the State are so ‘continuous and systematic’ as to render them essentially at home in the forum State.” Id. Establishing general jurisdiction is “difficult” and requires “extensive
Once a plaintiff establishes minimum contacts between the defendant and the forum state, the burden of proof shifts to the defendant to show that the assertion of jurisdiction is unfair and unreasonable. Wien Air Alaska, Inc. v. Brandt, 195 F.3d 208, 215 (5th Cir. 1999). The defendant must make a “compelling case.” Burger King Corp. v. Rudzewicz, 471 U.S. 462, 477 (1985). In determining whether the exercise of jurisdiction is fair and reasonable, the court must balance: (1) the burden on the nonresident defendant of having to defend itself in the forum, (2) the interests of the forum state in the case, (3) the plaintiff‘s interest in obtaining convenient and effective relief, (4) the interstate judicial system‘s interest in the most efficient resolution of controversies, and (5) the shared interests of the states in furthering fundamental social policies. Id.; see also Asahi Metal Indus. Co., Ltd. v. Superior Court of Cal., 480 U.S. 102, 115 (1987).
We hold that Cpt. Sangha did not make a prima facie showing of personal jurisdiction. More pointedly, after considering Cpt. Sangha‘s petition and the record evidence, it is clear that Navig8 is not subject to general jurisdiction in Texas. It is undisputed that Navig8 is not incorporated in Texas, has a foreign principal place of business, has no officers or shareholders in Texas, does not pay taxes in Texas, and does not have an agent for service of process in Texas. To dispute Navig8‘s jurisdictional defense, Cpt. Sangha submitted an affidavit testifying that he was aware that Navig8 “conducted business routinely out of the Port of Houston” and that Navig8 “does substantial business from and in the Port of Houston in bunkering fuel from the Port of Houston and other ports on Texas to offshore Texas.” Cpt. Sangha argues that these statements are not controverted and are therefore sufficient to establish a prima facie case of general jurisdiction. Even assuming the veracity of the jurisdictional allegations contained in Cpt. Sangha‘s petition and affidavit, he has not demonstrated that Navig8‘s contacts with the state of Texas are “continuous and systematic” enough to support general jurisdiction. Goodyear, 564 U.S. at 919. Cpt. Sangha‘s allegations that Navig8 “conducted business routinely” and does “substantial business” in Texas, without more, merely amount to “vague and overgeneralized assertions” of contacts “that give no indication as to thе extent, duration or frequency” of Navig8‘s contacts. See Johnston, 523 F.3d at 609; see also Panda Brandywine Corp. v. Potomac Elec. Power Co., 253 F.3d 865, 869 (5th Cir. 2001) (emphasizing that conclusory allegations of contacts with a forum, even if uncontroverted, cannot establish general jurisdiction). Coupling Cpt. Sangha‘s insufficient allegations with the difficulty of making a prima facie showing of general jurisdiction, we hold that Cpt. Sangha has failed to adequately show that Navig8 should be subject to general jurisdiction in Texas.
Nor does Cpt. Sangha allege sufficient contacts to show Navig8 is subject to specific jurisdiction in Texas. Cpt. Sangha avers that the intentional torts urged by him “stem from communications from Navig8
The contacts Cpt. Sangha identifies to support specific jurisdiction—email communiсations from two Navig8 representatives located outside the country to Cpt. Sangha‘s then-supervisor in Alabama, an employment contract between Cpt. Sangha and Marine Consultants allegedly confected in Houston,2 that the email communications were targeted at a contract formed in Texas,
and that the еmails concerned work that was to be performed in Texas—are legally insufficient to support a finding of specific jurisdiction. Navig8‘s contacts with the state have to be purposeful “and not merely fortuitous,” Walden, 134 S. Ct. at 1123 (noting that “[d]ue process requires that a defendant be haled into court in a forum State based on his own affiliation with the State, not based on the ‘random, fortuitous, or attenuated’ contacts he makes by interacting with persons affiliated with the State“) (quoting Burger King, 471 U.S. at 475). Even though Navig8‘s email communications happened to affect Cpt. Sangha while he was at the Port of Houston, this single effect is not enough to confer specific jurisdiction over Navig8.
Relatedly, Cpt. Sangha‘s reliance on the “effects” test of Calder v. Jones, 465 U.S. 783 (1984), is unavаiling. Cpt. Sangha argues that “[t]his case tracks the Calder analysis because committed [sic] an act expressly aimed at work that Capt. Sangha was performing in and from Texas ports, including the Port of Houston, and the harm, including termination[,] was felt in Houston, where Capt. Sangha was picked up after termination.” The Supreme Court recently сlarified the form that forum contacts must take in intentional tort cases for the effects to be applicable, reiterating that mere injury to a forum resident is not a sufficient connection to the forum. Walden, 134 S. Ct. at 1125. “Regardless of where a plaintiff lives or works, an injury is jurisdictionally relevant only insofar as it shows that the defendant has formed a contact with the forum State.” Id. The proper question is not whether Cpt. Sangha experienced an injury or effect in a particular location, but
Because we affirm on personal jurisdiction grounds, we need not address the district court‘s forum non conveniens analysis.
III. CONCLUSION
For the foregoing reasons, we AFFIRM the district court‘s judgment dismissing Cpt. Sangha‘s claims.