The case involved a South Carolina client that advertised a crane for sale over the Internet and ultimately sold the crane to a company in Rhode Island. When the Rhode Island purchaser sued the South Carolina client in Rhode Island, Stacey Nakasian argued that the client’s contacts within Rhode Island were insufficient to force the company to face suit here. A Federal Court Judge agreed and ordered the case transferred to the client’s home state, South Carolina.
Clients who want to avoid being sued in a ”foreign” jurisdiction should specify in their contract documents where disputes will be heard. Clients should discuss with legal counsel the options to elect arbitration or Court, as well as the location of the dispute resolution forum. If it’s too late and you find yourself facing suit in a “foreign” court, your legal counsel may still be able to get the suit transferred, as D&S did in this case.
The details of the case with Stacey’s comments are reported in a January 26th Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly article entitled “Internet advertising isn’t sufficient for personal jurisdiction.”