ACCEPTED 02-17-00176-CV SECOND COURT OF APPEALS FORT WORTH, TEXAS 6/19/2017 3:55 PM DEBRA SPISAK CLERK NO. 02-17-00176-CV IN THE SECOND COURT OF APPEALS FILED IN 2nd COURT OF APPEALS AT FORT WORTH FORT WORTH, TEXAS 6/19/2017 3:55:07 PM DEBRA SPISAK Clerk ANTHONY A. RIEDER, ED RAPEE, III, and CADBURY SOLUTIONS, LLC Appellants v. ALAN MEEKER and CQUENTIA SERIES, LLC, Appellees and KENNY WOODS Appellant v. ANTHONY A. RIEDER, ED RAPEE, III, and CADBURY SOLUTIONS, LLC Appellees On Appeal from the 342nd District Court of Tarrant County, Texas Trial Court No. 342-288556-16 BRIEF OF THE APPELLANTS 1 Brian P. Lauten Timothy J. Andringa Deans & Lyons, LLP (Pro Hac Vice) Republic Center Matthew M. Fernholz 325 North St. Paul Street, Suite 1500 (Pro Hac Vice) Dallas, Texas 75201 Cramer, Multhauf & Hammes, LLP Email: [email protected] 1601 East Racine Avenue, Suite 200 Phone: 214-965-8500 Waukesha, Wisconsin 53187 Direct: 214-838-2519 Phone: 262-542-4278 Fax: 214-965-8505 Fax: 262-542-4270 2 IDENTITY OF THE PARTIES AND COUNSEL LIST OF PARTIES TO THE TRIAL COURT’S JUDGMENT: Kenny Woods (Plaintiff/Appellant) Anthony A. Rieder (Defendant/Appellant) Ed Rapee, III (Defendant/Appellant) Cadbury Solutions, LLC (Defendant/Appellant) Alan Meeker (Intervenor/Appellee) CQuentia Series, LLC (Intervenor/Appellee) ATTORNEYS FOR PLAINTIFF/APPELLANT (Trial and Appeal) Thomas F. Harkins, Jr. Whitaker, Chalk, Swindle & Schwartz PLLC 301 Commerce Street, Suite 3500 Fort Worth, TX 76102 Phone: (817) 878-0574 Fax: (817) 878-0501 [email protected] ATTORNEYS FOR DEFENDANTS/APPELLANTS (Trial and Appeal) Attorney Brian P. Lauten Deans & Lyons, LLP Republic Center 325 North St. Paul Street, Suite 1500 Dallas, Texas 75201 Phone: 214-965-8500 Fax: 214-965-8505 [email protected] 3 Timothy J. Andringa (Pro Hac Vice) Matthew M. Fernholz (Pro Hac Vice) Cramer, Multhauf & Hammes, LLP 1601 East Racine Avenue, Suite 200 Waukesha, Wisconsin 53187 Phone: 262-542-4278 Fax: 262-542-4270 [email protected] [email protected] ATTORNEYS FOR INTERVENORS/APPELLEE Bill Warren KELLY HART & HALLMAN LLP 201 Main Street, Suite 2500 Fort Worth, Texas 76102 Phone: 817-332-2500 Fax: 817-878-9280 [email protected] 4 TABLE OF CONTENTS IDENTITY OF THE PARTIES AND COUNSEL ..................................................... 3 TABLE OF CONTENTS ............................................................................................ 5 INDEX OF AUTHORITIES ...................................................................................... 7 STATEMENT OF THE CASE ................................................................................. 11 ISSUES PRESENTED .............................................................................................. 12 STATEMENT OF FACTS ....................................................................................... 12 A. Nature of the Underlying Business Dispute That Resulted in Litigation in Two Forums ............................................................................ 12 B. Rieder and Rapee’s Limited Contacts with Texas ....................................... 16 C. Procedural History in Texas ......................................................................... 17 SUMMARY OF THE ARGUMENT ....................................................................... 20 STANDARD OF REVIEW ..................................................................................... 22 A. Point of Error No.1: De Novo ...................................................................... 22 B. Point of Error No. 2: De Novo & Abuse of Discretion ................................ 23 ARGUMENT & AUTHORITIES ............................................................................ 25 Point of Error No. 1: The Trial Court Wrongly Concluded That it Has Personal Jurisdiction Over CQuentia’s Claims Against Reider and Rapee ........................................................................................................... 25 5 A. The State of Texas Lacks General Jurisdiction Over Rieder and Rapee ............................................................................................. 26 B. The State of Texas Lacks Specific Jurisdiction Over Rieder and Rapee ................................................................................. 27 C. Forcing Rieder and Rapee to Appear in a Texas Court Offends Traditional Notions of Fair Play and Substantial Justice .................. 35 Point of Error No. 2: The Trial Court Should Have Dismissed Meeker’s First Claim for Relief and Severed His Second Claim ..................................... 37 A. Meeker’s First Request for Declaratory Relief Should be Dismissed ........................................................................... 38 B. Meeker’s Second Claim for Declaratory Relief Should be Dismissed or Severed and Abated .................................... 48 CONCLUSION ........................................................................................................ 50 PRAYER FOR RELIEF ........................................................................................... 51 CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE ................................................................................. 53 CERTIFICATE OF COMPLIANCE ....................................................................... 53 APPENDIX .............................................................................................................. 54 6 INDEX OF AUTHORITIES CASE LAW: Alenia Spazio, S.P.A. v. Reid, 130 S.W.3d 201 (Tex. App.—Houston 2003, pet. denied), cert. denied, 549 U.S. 821 (2006)) ..... 40 Am. Type Culture Collection, Inc. v. Coleman 83 S.W.3d 801 (Tex. 2002) ................................................................................ 22, 26 Barrera v. Cherer, No. 04-13-00612-CV, 2014 WL 1713522 (Tex. App.—San Antonio Apr. 30, 2014, no pet) .................................................. 29 Cerbone v. Farb, 225 S.W.3d 764 (Tex. App.–Houston [14th Dist.] 2007, no pet.) .................................................... 28 Credit Commercial de France, S.A. v. Morales 195 S.W.3d 209 (Tex. App.—San Antonio 2006, no pet.) ........................ 32, 33, 34 Crum & Forster Specialty Ins. Co. v. Creekstone Builders, Inc. 489 S.W.3d 473 (Tex. App.—Houston 2015, no pet.) .......................................... 47 CSR, Ltd. v. Link, 925 S.W.2d 591 (Tex. 1996) ..................................................... 40 DENSO Corp. v. Hall, 396 S.W.3d 681 (Tex. App.—Houston 2013, no pet.) ...................................................................... 39 Direct Color Servs., Inc. v. Eastman Kodak Co. 929 S.W.2d 558 (Tex. App.—Tyler 1996, no pet.) .................................... 42, 44, 45 Evergreen Media Holdings, LLC v. Safran Co. 68 F. Supp. 3d 664 (S.D. Tex. 2014) ....................................................................... 31 F.F.P. Oper. Partners, L.P. v. Duenez, 237 S.W.3d 680 (Tex. 2007) .................... 25 7 Geis v. Colina Del Rio, LP, 362 S.W.3d 100 (Tex. App.—San Antonio 2011, pet. denied) ........................................................ 29 Guar. Federal Sav. Bank v. Horseshoe Oper. Co. 793 S.W.2d 652 (Tex. 1990) .................................................................................... 24 Guardian Royal Exch. Assur., Ltd. v. English China Clays, P.L.C. 815 S.W.2d 223 (Tex. 1991) ........................................................................ 23, 26, 35 Info. Servs. Grp., Inc. v. Rawlinson 302 S.W.3d 392 (Tex. App.—Houston [14th Dist.] 2009, pet. denied) ................. 30 In re Am. Nat. Cty. Mut. Ins. Co., 384 S.W.3d 429 (Tex. App.—Austin 2012, original proceeding) .............................................. 25, 49 In re Farmers Tex. Cnty. Mut. Ins. Co. No. 07-11-00396-CV, 2011 WL 4916303 (Tex. App.—Amarillo Oct. 17, 2011, orig. proceeding) (mem. op.) .................... 49 In re Gen. Elec. Co., 271 S.W.3d 681 (Tex. 2008) ................................................. 24 In re Oceanografia, S.A. de C.V., 494 S.W.3d 728 (Tex. 2016) ............................ 44 In re Old Am. Cty. Mut. Fire Ins. Co. No. 13-11-00412-CV, 2012 WL 506570 (Tex. App.—Corpus Christi-Edinburg Feb. 16, 2012, rehearing overruled) ....... 25 In re Old Am. Cnty. Mut. Fire Ins. Co., No. 13-12-00700-CV, 2013 WL 398866 (Tex. App.—Corpus Christi January 30, 2013, orig. proceeding) ........................ 49 In re Reynolds, 369 S.W.3d 638 (Tex. App.—Tyler 2012, orig. proceeding) ........................................................... 49 8 In re United Fire Lloyds, 327 S.W.3d 250 (Tex. App.—San Antonio 2010, orig. proceeding)................................................ 49 Julka v. U.S. Bank Nat'l Ass'n No. 01-16-00348-CV, 2017 WL 405814 (Tex. App.—Houston [1st Dist.] Jan. 31, 2017, no pet.) ....................................... 28 Kelly v. Gen. Interior Const., Inc., 262 S.W.3d 79 (Tex. App.—Houston [14th Dist.] 2008) ............................................................... 28 Kelly v. Gen. Interior Const., Inc., 301 S.W.3d 653 (Tex. 2010) ......................... 28 Knight Corp. v. Knight, 367 S.W.3d 715 (Tex. App.—Houston 2012, no pet.) ...................................................................... 39 Michiana Easy Livin' Country, Inc. v. Holten 168 S.W.3d 777 (Tex. 2005) ........................................................................ 32, 33, 34 Moki Mac River Expeditions v. Drugg, 221 S.W.3d 569 (Tex. 2007) .................. 23 Moncrief Oil Intern., Inc. v. OAO Gazprom 481 F.3d 309 (5th Cir. 2007) ............................................................................. 31, 33 OAIC Commercial Assets, L.L.C. v. Stonegate Vill., L.P. 234 S.W.3d 726 (Tex. App.—Dallas 2007, pet. denied) ........................................ 47 Pablo Rion y Asociados, S.A. de C.V. v. Dauajare 495 S.W.3d 494 (Tex. App.—Houston [1st Dist.] 2016, no pet.) ......................... 42 PHC-Minden, L.P. v. Kimberly-Clark Corp. 235 S.W.3d 163 (Tex. 2007) .................................................................................... 40 9 Penhollow Custom Homes, LLC v. Kim 320 S.W.3d 366 (Tex. App.—El Paso 2010, no pet.) ............................................. 28 Quixtar Inc. v. Signature Mgmt. Team, LLC. 315 S.W.3d 28 (Tex. 2010) ...................................................................................... 46 Riverside Exports, Inc. v. B.R. Crane & Equip., LLC 362 S.W.3d 649 (Tex. App.—Houston [14th Dist.] 2011, pet. denied) ............... 31 Sanchez v. Mulvaney, 274 S.W.3d 708 (Tex. App.-San Antonio 2008, no pet.) .................................................................. 29 Vinson v. Am. Bureau of Shipping, 318 S.W.3d 34 (Tex. App.—Houston [1st Dist.] 2010, pet. denied) ............................................... 43 Wolf v. Summers–Wood, L.P., 214 S.W.3d 783 ................................................... 28 RULES: TEX. R. CIV. P. 41 ..................................................................................................... 24 TEX. CIV. PRAC. & REM. CODE § 71.051 (Vernon 2014) ................................... 42, 44 10
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