McClanahan v. Trans-America Insurance

PEEK, J.

This is an appeal by plaintiffs from an order service of summons on defendant insurance company, a foreign corporation not qualified to do business within this state.

Plaintiffs, residents of the State of Washington, recovered a judgment for personal injuries and damages arising out of an automobile collision in Shasta County against J. F. and Leila Galloway, husband and wife, residents of Colombia,

[172]

South America, who were insureds of defendant corporation. The defendant corporation failed to pay the judgment, and this action was brought against it under the terms of the policy. Defendant was served by substitute service upon the Secretary of State pursuant to section 6501 of the Corporations Code. It thereafter appeared specially for the purpose of moving to quash the service. The motion was supported by affidavits of one L. H. Walden, defendant’s president, and Michael T. Hennessy, one of the attorneys who represented defendant in the original proceeding. In opposition to the motion, affidavits were filed by Daniel S. Carlton, attorney for plaintiffs.

Recently, the reviewing courts of this state, in the cases of

Kneeland

v.

Ethicon Suture Laboratories, Inc.,

118 Cal.App.2d 211 [257 P.2d 727], and

Jeter

v.

Austin Trailer Equipment Co.,

122 Cal.App.2d 376 [265 P.2d 130], had occasion to discuss at length the changing concepts regarding “doing business” within this state so as to be amenable to local process and consistent with due process. No useful purpose would be served by reviewing these exhaustive decisions at length. It is sufficient to note that as presently conceived, the rule has substituted a “qualitative” criterion for the “quantitative” concept.

(International Shoe Co.

v.