Ainsworth v. Moffett Engineering, Ltd.

James Ainsworth was killed by an allegedly defective forklift while working in Mississippi. The forklift was designed and manufactured by Moffett Engineering, Ltd. (Moffett) (defendant), an Irish corporation, and sold through Cargotec USA, Inc. (Cargotec) (defendant), a Delaware corporation headquartered in Ohio. Under an exclusive sales and distribution agreement, Cargotec was the sole marketer and distributor of Moffett forklifts in the United States. Between 2000 and 2010, Moffett sold 13,073 forklifts to Cargotec, of which 203 were sold to Mississippi customers, generating nearly $3.95 million—about 1.55 percent of Moffett’s total US sales. Moffett manufactured forklifts designed for poultry-related uses, and Mississippi was the fourth-largest poultry-producing state. Mary Ainsworth (plaintiff), James’s widow, filed a wrongful-death and product-liability action against Moffett and Cargotec in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi. Moffett moved to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction. The court denied the motion, finding that Moffett was subject to jurisdiction under the stream-of-commerce test because it had entered a nationwide distribution agreement with Cargotec, knew that Cargotec marketed its products nationwide, and made no effort to restrict Cargotec’s sales territory. After the United States Supreme Court issued its decision in J. McIntyre Machinery, Ltd. v. Nicastro, Moffett asked the court to reconsider. The court again denied dismissal. The Fifth Circuit granted Moffett leave to appeal the interlocutory order.