Jurisdiction Victory: Court Grants Motion to Quash in Favor of Florida-Based Business Owners

We are pleased to share a significant win on behalf of our clients in FL Happy Appliances, Inc. v. Tomorrow Rent LLC et al., where our firm successfully challenged California’s jurisdiction over Florida-based defendants.

Our clients—operators and owners of appliance stores based in Florida—were sued in California by a supplier asserting claims under an exclusive distribution agreement. The plaintiff named not only the operating entities but also the individual business owners, attempting to haul them into court in a state where they neither lived nor conducted business.

Trépanier Tajima LLP filed a motion to quash service of process on behalf of the individual defendants, supported by sworn declarations and documentary evidence. We demonstrated that our clients had no meaningful contacts with California sufficient to justify personal jurisdiction. The Court agreed, holding that the plaintiff failed to meet its burden to establish jurisdiction. The Court granted the motion to quash, ruling that exercising jurisdiction over the Florida residents would violate principles of fair play and substantial justice.

This result upholds the constitutional due process standard established by the U.S. Supreme Court in International Shoe Co. v. Washington (1945) 326 U.S. 310, 316, which requires that a defendant have “minimum contacts” with the forum state before being subjected to its courts.

This ruling affirms important constitutional limits on forum selection and personal jurisdiction—and protects out-of-state individuals from being improperly dragged into litigation in foreign jurisdictions without sufficient legal basis.

We’re proud to have defended our clients’ rights and to have secured a decisive early victory that significantly narrows the case.