In a trucking personal injury case, TTH Attorney Amanda Hennessey recently won an appeal before the Third Circuit Court of Appeals.  The Court’s ruling affirmed the full dismissal of the action by Judge Sylvia H. Rambo of the Middle District of Pennsylvania.  Amanda represented the operator of an ocean-container terminal (“the Terminal”) and an organization that was a limited partner in a limited partnership, which was in turn a limited partner in the ocean terminal corporation (“Limited Partner”).  Plaintiff was a truck driver and independent contractor for a Pennsylvania delivery company.  The company sent Plaintiff an order to pick up a load in New Jersey from the Terminal, operated by the Limited Partner, to deliver it in Central Pennsylvania.  At the Terminal, Plaintiff picked up a previously loaded ocean freight container that allegedly exceeded the maximum safe weight limit for his truck.  While driving the load to Central Pennsylvania, Plaintiff’s truck rolled over and caught fire, seriously and permanently injuring him.  He and his wife sued the Terminal and the Limited Partner for negligence and loss of consortium.  After the District Court granted a full dismissal, Plaintiff appealed to the Third Circuit.

In the Third Circuit’s de novo review, it determined that Plaintiff failed to meet his burden to establish a prima facie case of personal jurisdiction.  Both companies provided Affidavits indicating that they did not do any business or solicit business in Pennsylvania, and did not otherwise have any contact with Pennsylvania.  Plaintiff failed to plead any facts to contradict the evidence to meet his burden of showing general personal jurisdiction.  The Third Circuit also agreed that the District Court did not have specific personal jurisdiction.  Plaintiff failed to produce any facts showing that either company took any act in Pennsylvania or otherwise “engaged in conduct purposefully directed at” it.  The only allegation was that the companies’ employees loaded the container onto his truck.  The documentation attached to Plaintiff’s Complaint confirmed that neither company was the shipper.  There were no allegations to support that the companies chose where the goods were to go.

As the Plaintiff failed to meet his burden to show either general or specific personal jurisdiction, the Third Circuit affirmed the District Court’s full dismissal.  If you have any questions about this case, or would like to request a copy of the Court’s Opinion, please contact Amanda Hennessey at (717) 237-7103 or ahennessey@tthlaw.com.