Koninklijke LM v. Superior Court

107 Cal.App.2d 495 (1951) KONINKLIJKE LUCHTVAART MAATSCHAPPIJ (a Corporation), Petitioner,

v.

SUPERIOR COURT OF LOS ANGELES COUNTY, Respondent.

Civ. No. 18671. California Court of Appeals. Second Dist., Div. Two.

Nov. 14, 1951. Guthrie, Darling & Shattuck and Milo V. Olson for Petitioner.

Harold W. Kennedy, County Counsel, and John B. Anson, Deputy County Counsel, for Respondent.

Benjamin D. Mathon, Raoul D. Magana, Kaplan, Livingston, Goodwin & Berkowitz and Warren M. Goodwin for Real Parties in Interest. [496]

WILSON, J.

This proceeding arises on the petition of Koninklijke Luchtvaart Maatschappij, hereinafter referred to as KLM, a foreign corporation, for a writ of prohibition to restrain the superior court from taking further proceedings in five actions for damages for wrongful death brought against petitioner, following the denial of its motion by special appearance to quash service of summons.

The decedent in each of the actions was either a passenger or a member of the crew of a private airplane owned by the Superior Oil Company which crashed in taking off from an airfield in London, England, causing the death of the person of whom the plaintiffs claim to be the surviving heirs. It is alleged in each complaint that KLM negligently performed its contract with the Superior Oil Company to maintain, repair and inspect the aircraft at London, England, the proximate result of which was that the airplane crashed.

The only question to be determined is whether jurisdiction may be maintained over a foreign corporation engaged solely in interstate or foreign commerce in the State of California when the subject matter of the action is wholly unrelated to any of the business conducted by such corporation in this state.

KLM is a corporation organized under the laws of the Kingdom of The Netherlands and it has never qualified to do business in California. It operates an intercontinental commercial airline with routes between the continent of Europe and New York and between the Netherlands West Indies and Miami, Florida. It purchases from California manufacturers airplanes in excess of $1,000,000 a year, the contracts for which are executed in The Netherlands. It has maintained a technical office in Los Angeles since 1938, where approximately 24 persons are employed for the purpose of administering its contracts for the purchase of airplanes and airplane parts. It maintains a checking account at a local bank from which it pays its employees. It owns four automobiles which are maintained for the use of technical workers in connection with their duties of visiting various aircraft plants. When flight personnel arrive from Amsterdam for the purpose of accepting delivery of an airplane manufactured by a local airplane factory the office makes arrangements for the accommodations of such personnel. The office is listed in the directory of the building and the rent is paid locally on a month-to- month basis. In addition to the technical office KLM maintains a ticket office in Los Angeles where it employs three or