236 Conn. 78 | Conn. | 1996
This appeal challenges the validity of a default judgment on the ground that the trial court rendering the judgment lacked personal jurisdiction over a foreign corporation. The plaintiff, Jeffrey C. Wilkinson, filed a complaint to recover damages for the loss of a vessel sold to him by the defendant Boats Unlimited, Inc. (Boats Unlimited), and manufactured by the defendant Bayliner Marine Corporation (Bayliner). The trial court, Arena, J., granted the plaintiffs motion for a default judgment against the defendants for failure to appear and, after a hearing in damages, rendered a judgment on March 26, 1992, against both defendants in the amount of $168,342.79. On October 18, 1994, Bayliner moved to set aside the default judgment rendered against it. The trial court, Stanley, J., denied Bayliner’s motion. Bayliner then appealed to the Appellate Court, and we transferred the appeal to this court pursuant to Practice Book § 4023 and General Statutes § 51-199 (c). We reverse the judgment of the trial court.
For the purpose of the present appeal, the record reveals the following pertinent facts. On June 22, 1989, the plaintiff purchased a vessel from Boats Unlimited,
On August 23, 1990, the plaintiff, then a resident of Connecticut, filed a personal injury action to recover damages arising out of the sinking. Bayliner appeared to defend against that action and removed it to federal court. In a deposition taken in conjunction with the federal action, the plaintiff stated under oath that he had moved his residency from Connecticut to the state of Pennsylvania in November, 1990. The federal action concluded in December, 1993, when a jury awarded the plaintiff nominal damages of $1.
On August 17, 1991, during the pendency of the personal injury action in federal court, Middlesex filed the present complaint for property damages in the name of the plaintiff. Although the nominal plaintiff was no longer a resident of Connecticut at that time, in the summons attached to the complaint his address was given as 32 Florence Avenue, Wallingford, Connecticut. Bayliner filed no appearance in this action. A default judgment was rendered against Bayliner on March 26, 1992.
After unsuccessfully attempting to levy on the default judgment in Connecticut, Middlesex, suing in the name
After the adverse ruling of the Washington Appellate Court, Bayliner moved the Connecticut trial court to set aside the default judgment. The trial court denied Bayliner’s motion. The trial court agreed with Bayliner that, because the motion alleged an absence of personal jurisdiction, it could properly be filed even though more
I
Although §§ 52-212 and 52-212a
The nominal plaintiff claims that Bayliner was nonetheless not entitled to relief because Bayliner had delayed inequitably in filing its motion to set aside the default judgment. That contention is predicated on factual assumptions regarding the time when Bayliner had actual notice of the nominal plaintiffs nonresidency, but that claim was not distinctly presented to the trial court, and the trial court, therefore, made no finding as to this issue.
II
The principal issue before the trial court, and before us on appeal, is whether the default judgment rendered
A
The trial court concluded, on the basis of inferences that it drew from the sheriffs return, that the requirements of § 33-411 (b) had been met in this case. The sheriffs return stated that the sheriff had “made due and legal service upon the within named Non-Registered Foreign Corporation Bayliner Marine Corporation by leaving with and in the hands of the Clerk in Charge at the Office of the Secretary of State for the State of Connecticut Two (2) true and attested copies of the original writ, summons, and complaint . . . The trial court inferred from the sheriffs return that Bayliner had improperly failed to register with the secretary of the state to transact business in Connecticut and that service of process had properly been effected in compliance with General Statutes § 33-411 (a).
The difficulty with the holding of the trial court is that it assumes the very point that is at issue. By the express terms of § 33-411 (a), service on the secretary of the state was proper to vest jurisdiction in the trial court only if Bayliner was in fact “authorized to transact business in this state . . . .” The trial court, however, made no such finding. Significantly, subsection (b) of § 33-411 confers local jurisdiction over a foreign corporation only upon proof of “two conditions: the transaction of business in this state, and a cause of action arising out of the transaction of such business.” Lombard Bros., Inc. v. General Asset Management Co., 190 Conn. 245, 251, 460 A.2d 481 (1983).
The nominal plaintiff urges us to fill this factual lacuna by reference to what he characterizes as “unequivocal concessions and judicial admissions” contained in exhibits that are part of the record in this case. He points in particular to the answer filed by Bayliner in the personal injury action that was tried in federal court, wherein Bayliner admitted that “it was the manufacturer of a Bayliner 34 foot ‘34500 Convertible’ watercraft, which it manufactured and distributed as a Bayliner product for ultimate sale to a consumer within
B
Even if the requirements of § 33-411 (b) have not been met, § 33-411 (c) may furnish an alternate basis for the exercise of personal jurisdiction over a foreign coiporation. Although the trial court did not resolve this issue, we will consider its merits because it was fully explored in the trial court and has been fully argued here. In the circumstances of this case, we conclude that § 33-411 (c) does not support the exercise of personal jurisdiction over Bayliner.
Section 33-411 (c) forecloses the rights of the nominal plaintiff to sue Bayliner in our state courts. That section expressly requires an individual plaintiff who does not have “a usual place of business in this state” to have resided here at the time when the action was brought. No claim has ever been made that the nominal plaintiff had a “place of business” in Connecticut. Bayliner has long asserted, and the nominal plaintiff now concedes, that he himself was no longer a Connecticut resident after November, 1990.
The nominal plaintiff claims, however, that the relevant residency is that of Middlesex, which has sufficient business contacts with Connecticut to invoke § 33-411
The judgment is reversed and the case is remanded with direction to render judgment for Bayliner.
In this opinion the other justices concurred.
General Statutes § 33-411 provides in relevant part: “Service of process on foreign corporation. . . .
“(c) Every foreign corporation shall be subject to suit in this state, by a resident of this state or by a person having a usual place of business in this state, whether or not such foreign corporation is transacting or has transacted business in this state and whether or not it is engaged exclusively in interstate or foreign commerce, on any cause of action arising as follows . . . (3) out of the production, manufacture or distribution of goods by such corporation with the reasonable expectation that such goods are to be used or consumed in this state and are so used or consumed, regardless of how or where the goods were produced, manufactured, marketed or sold or whether or not through the medium of independent contractors or dealers . . . .”
General Statutes § 52-212 provides in relevant part: “Reopening judgment upon default or nonsuit, (a) Any judgment rendered or decree passed upon a default or nonsuit in the superior court may be set aside, within four months following the date on which it was rendered or passed, and the case reinstated on the docket, on such terms in respect to costs as the court deems reasonable, upon the complaint or written motion of any party or person prejudiced thereby, showing reasonable cause, or that a good cause of action or defense in whole or in part existed at the time of the rendition of tire judgment or the passage of the decree, and that the plaintiff or defendant was prevented by mistake, accident or other reasonable cause from prosecuting the action or making the defense.”
General Statutes § 52-212a provides in relevant part: “Civil judgment or decree reopened or set aside within four months only. Unless otherwise provided by law and except in such cases in which the court has continuing jurisdiction, a civil judgment or decree rendered in the superior court may not be opened or set aside unless a motion to open or set aside is filed within four months following the date on which it was rendered or passed.
. . . The parties may waive the provisions of this section or otherwise submit to the jurisdiction of the court . . . .”
General Statutes § 33-411 provides in relevant part: “Service of process on foreign corporation. . . .
“(b) Every foreign corporation which transacts business in this state in violation of section 33-395 or 33-396 shall be subject to suit in this state
The plaintiff has not distinctly argued, either in the trial court or in this court, that. Bayliner’s participat ion in the litigation in the state of Washington, as a matter of res judicata, should preclude relitigation of the jurisdiction issue in this state. Cf. Morabito v. Wachsman, 191 Conn. 92, 96-100, 463 A.2d 593 (1983); see Ins. Corp. of Ireland, Ltd. v. Compagnie des Bauxites de Guinee, 456 U.S. 694, 706, 102 S. Ct. 2099, 72 L. Ed. 2d 492 (1982). We appreciate the courtesy of the Supreme Court of Washington in staying its own proceedings so as to afford this court plenary authority to decide the jurisdictional issue before us.
See also Practice Book § 326.
The trial court also made no finding in support of Bayliner’s allegation that the nominal plaintiff had committed fraud by listing a Connecticut address in the summons attached to his complaint.
General Statutes § 33-411 provides in relevant part;; “Service of process on foreign corporation, (a) Any process, notice or demand in connection with any action or proceeding required or permitted by law to be served