Sims v. National Engineering Co.

KINGSLEY, J.

Plaintiffs are the widow and minor children of a workman who was killed when a machine, manufactured by respondent and sold by it to plaintiffs’ intestate’s employer, accidentally started. Claiming negligence and breach of warranty, plaintiffs sued four California corporations, a Connecticut corporation, and respondent, an Illinois corporation. All of the defendants except respondent have appeared, some of them have filed cross-complaints for indemnity, and depositions of various California residents have been taken. Respondent, claiming that the court had no jurisdiction over it, moved to quash service of summons purportedly made on it by service on its local distributor. The motion was granted and plaintiffs have appealed.

1

In order to obtain personal jurisdiction over a for

[513]

eign corporation, two requirements must be met: (1) the corporation must be “doing business” in this state, within the meaning of that term as developed by our decisions; and (2) service must be made within this state on a person legally competent for that purpose. Respondent contended in the trial court, and contends here, that neither of these requirements was met in this case. For the reasons hereinafter set forth we reject both contentions.

I

The meaning of the term “doing business,” as applied to jurisdiction to maintain litigation, has been the subject of a number of recent cases in this state, one of which is an opinion of this court in James

R. Twiss, Ltd.

v.

Superior Court

(1963) 215 Cal.App.2d 247 [30 Cal.Rptr. 98], As pointed out in that case, although at one time the courts required such contacts with the state of the forum as to amount to “presence” of the foreign corporation within the jurisdiction, the modern rule, as stated by the Supreme Court in

Henry R. Jahn & Son, Inc.

v.

Superior Court