Vibration Isolation Products, Inc. v. American National Rubber Co.

[482]

Opinion

KINGSLEY, J.

Plaintiff appeals

1

from an order of the superior court granting the motion of a foreign corporation to quash service of summons on it. For the reasons set forth below, we affirm the order.

Plaintiff is a California corporation engaged (inter alia) in the manufacture of ship fenders for the United States Navy. In the course of that business, it uses Neoprene discs which must meet minimum standards commonly referred to as “Mil-R 6130 Grade A firm.” It purchased a quantity of Neoprene from defendant Durkee-Atwood Company, a Minnesota corporation, under a contract in which Durkee-Atwood warranted that the Neoprene met the minimum standards above referred to. Durkee-Atwood, in turn, had purchased Neoprene to fill plaintiff’s order from defendant American National Rubber Company (American), a West Virginia corporation with its plant in West Virginia, again under purchase orders calling for the product to meet the above standards. Plaintiff’s complaint herein

2

alleges that, in fact, the Neoprene did not meet those standards, and, that, as a result, it suffered loss under its contract with the Navy Department.

3

Treating the operative facts most favorably to American, as we are required to do on appeal

(Tiffany Records, Inc.

v.

M. B. Krupp Distributors, Inc.

(1969) 276 Cal.App.2d 610, 615 [81 Cal.Rptr. 320];

Detsch & Co.

v.

Calbar, Inc.

(1964) 228 Cal.App.2d 556, 562-563 [39 Cal.Rptr. 626]), the relations between American and the State of California may be summarized as follows:

(1) Since 1969, American has sold a small quantity of its products to California customers (including some goods sold to customers in Detroit but shipped, at the customers’ direction, to California destinations). The gross amount of such orders was under $25,000.