Bonab v. Ginn CA6

Filed 10/25/22 Bonab v. Ginn CA6 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or ordered published, except as specified by rule 8.1115(b). This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.

IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

SIXTH APPELLATE DISTRICT

FARAZ FADAVI AKHAVAN BONAB, H048837 (Santa Clara County Plaintiff and Appellant, Super. Ct. No. 20CV366892)

v.

SAMUEL GINN,

Defendant and Respondent.

In 2018, plaintiff Fadavi Akhavan Bonab and defendant Samuel Ginn were in a single-car injury accident in West Lafayette, Indiana. Bonab brought suit against Ginn, the driver. The superior court granted Ginn’s motion to quash service of the summons for lack of personal jurisdiction. Bonab appeals, arguing that Ginn, domiciled in Illinois, is subject to specific jurisdiction in California based on his contacts with the state and their connection with the parties’ reason for being in Indiana. Because any connection between Ginn’s driving and his contacts with California is too attenuated to support personal jurisdiction here, we affirm the trial court’s order. I. BACKGROUND Ginn and Bonab met as students at Stanford University in Palo Alto, California. In 2017, while they were still students, Ginn and Bonab formed a corporation called FGSpire, Inc., with the intention to design a software program for use by doctors of

veterinary medicine. Ginn became president of FGSpire and Bonab was chief financial officer. Although FGSpire was incorporated in Delaware, its bylaws, in addition to a number of other corporate documents,1 designated its principal place of business as a UPS Store mail drop in Palo Alto, California. FGSpire operated in California, establishing an account with Silicon Valley Bank, and engaging the professional services of a San Francisco-based accountant. FGSpire also pursued California clients, entering into nondisclosure agreements with two companies based in California—National Veterinary Associates and the San Francisco SPCA—and entering a contract with Petco Animal Supplies Stores, Inc., also based in California. Certain of FGSpire’s corporate documents, such as its Founder Stock Purchase Agreements with Bonab and with Ginn, specified that the agreements would be governed by the laws of the State of California. After the conclusion of Stanford’s spring quarter in June 2018, Ginn and Bonab both flew to Chicago, Illinois for the purpose of attending a business meeting on behalf of FGSpire, Inc. with representatives of the school of veterinary medicine at Purdue University in Indiana. Ginn, who is domiciled in Oak Park, Illinois, borrowed his mother’s car for local ground transportation. Ginn and Bonab spent the appointed day at Purdue’s school of veterinary medicine, talking to faculty and staff about FGSpire’s program for the management of records. Ginn and Bonab left Purdue in Ginn’s mother’s car. On the way to their hotel, Ginn veered off the road into an adjacent stand of trees. Bonab was seriously injured. On March 30, 2020, Bonab filed suit against Ginn in Tippecanoe County in Indiana, but he dismissed his complaint without prejudice two months later. Bonab then