Vos v. Payen
15 So. 3d 734 (Fla. 3rd DCA 2009) (July)
A Dutch corporation sold what it new to be tainted chemicals to a company in Haiti that produced medicine, causing the death of more than 70 children. A group of personal representatives of deceased Haitian children and parents of children who survived exposure to the medicine filed suit against the company in a Florida court. The corporation filed a motion to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction, but the trial court denied it. The trial court found that the corporation had “continuous and systematic” contacts in Florida through other business dealings that allowed the court to assert jurisdiction over it. The district court
reversed holding that the corporation’s contacts in Florida were “ de minimis.” The district
court noted that the tainted chemicals never passed through Florida and did not involve a
Florida business. Also, the corporation’s sales in Florida only accounted for 0.236 percent of its overall sales. The trial court specially noted that the corporation had a Florida bank account, but the district court held this contact insufficient to establish personal jurisdiction.