Fields v. Klatt Hardware & Lumber, Inc.

Masterjack Services, Inc. (Masterjack) (defendant) was a Colorado corporation without a regular place of business or designated agent for service of process in Texas. Amy Fields (plaintiff) purchased a bottle of drain cleaner manufactured by Masterjack from a Klatt Hardware and Lumber, Inc. (Klatt) (defendant) store in Texas. Fields allegedly suffered second- and third-degree burns when she opened the bottle and drain cleaner splashed onto her hands and arms. Fields sued Klatt and Masterjack, alleging that the product was defective. Fields served Masterjack pursuant to the long-arm statute. Masterjack did not answer or appear. Under Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code § 82.003, a nonmanufacturing seller of a defective product was not liable for harm caused by the product, but a plaintiff could proceed against a seller if the manufacturer was not subject to the court’s jurisdiction. The statute provided that if the manufacturer failed to answer or appear, it was conclusively presumed that the manufacturer was not subject to the court’s jurisdiction unless the seller could secure personal jurisdiction over the manufacturer. Klatt moved for summary judgment, arguing that Masterjack was subject to the court’s jurisdiction. Klatt provided an affidavit stating that Masterjack’s sales representatives had telephoned and personally visited the store to solicit Klatt’s business. Fields’s summary-judgment motion included evidence of Masterjack’s contacts with Klatt in Texas. Klatt argued that it had served Masterjack in accordance with the long-arm statute and the testamentary and documentary evidence demonstrated that Masterjack had minimum contacts with Texas. The trial court granted Klatt summary judgment. Fields appealed.