STATE OF
MARY X, et al,
Plaintiffs, DECISION AND ORDER
vs. Case
No. 06-CV-195
VINCENT PITTS, et al,
INDEX
I. Memorandum
Opinion .............................................................................. 1
II. Questions Presented And
Issues................................................................ 2
III. Factual
Background........................................................................................ 3
IV. Discussion................................................................................................. 6
A. Piercing The Corporate Veil.................................................................... 6
1. Legal
Standard for Disregarding the Corporate Form ................ 6
2. Palmetto
and Vincent Pitts......................................................... 9
3. Gemini
and Tina Cecil.............................................................. 11
4. Gemini,
Pitts and Palmetto........................................................ 12
B. Agency............................................................................................... 18
1. The
Doctrine of Respondeat Superior..................................... 18
2. Gemini,
Pitts and Palmetto..................................................... 22
3. Robert
Cecil......................................................................... 26
C.
Wisconsin's Long-Arm Statute...................................................
1.
Requirements for Specific Jurisdiction.................................... 27
2. Specific
Jurisdiction Through Piercing the Corporate Veil ...... 28 3. Specific Jurisdiction From
Solicitation on Behalf of
Defendants.......................................................................... 30
D.
Constitutional Due Process.................................................................. 31
1. Due
Process Requirements.................................................... 31
2. Quantity
of Contacts.............................................................. 32
3. Nature
and Quality of Contacts.............................................. 32
4. Source of
Cause of Action..................................................... 33
5. Interest
of
6.
Convenience......................................................................... 35
V. Conclusions Of
Law And Order.............................................................. 35
Defendants.
FILED
Decision And Order i X v. Pitts 06-CV-195
STATE OF
MARY X, et al,
Plaintiffs, DECISION
AND ORDER FILED
vs. Case
No. 06-CV-195 SEP 2 4 2007
VINCENT
PITTS, et al,
CLERK OF COURT
Defendants.
I. Memorandum
Opinion
Defendants Pitts, Palmetto, Ms. Cecil, Mr. Cecil and Mr. Pitts argue that
the suit against them should be dismissed because
To determine whether the
X v. Pitts 06-CV-195
Pitts had sufficient control over
the actions of Green, and whether Palmetto had sufficient control over the
actions of Gemini and Pitts, so that the doctrine of respondeat superior can be used to impute the actions of these
parties to their superiors. Third, the Court must determine whether the
exercise of personal jurisdiction over the defendants is allowed under
In order to
determine whether the Court may properly exercise personal jurisdiction over
the defendants, certain facts need to be ascertained. For the purpose of
determining personal jurisdiction, the Court is authorized to make these
findings of fact based on the evidence before it. [
II. Questions
Presented And Issues
A. For the
purpose of determining personal jurisdiction, should the court pierce the
corporate veils and hold Tina Cecil liable for the actions of Gemini
Subscriptions, Inc., and hold Vincent Pitts liable for the actions of Palmetto
Marketing Inc.?
B. For the
purpose of determining personal jurisdiction, should the court, using the
doctrine of respondeat superior, hold
Gemini Subscriptions, Inc., Pitts Sales, Inc., and Palmetto Marketing, Inc.,
liable for the actions of Brandon Green?
C. Do the
Decision And Order 2 X v. Pitts 06-CV-195
III. Factual Background
On
After
leaving X's home, Green hid and smoked some "white widow", which is
the street name for marijuana laced with cocaine. [Pl. Ex. 1,
Letter of Brandon Green (PJ-000003); Pl. Ex. 12, Dep. Digest-Brandon Green
(PJ-000213)]. Green then returned to X's home, forced his way inside,
trapped her in her bedroom, and violently sexually assaulted her. [Pl. Ex.
6(A), Criminal Compl. (PJ-000056-000057);
Pl. Ex. 6(A), Incident Report (PJ-000062)]. Once Green left, X called
the police to report the incident, was seen at the hospital, and stayed at her
former mother-in-law's home for safety. [Pl. Ex. 6(A), Incident Report
(PJ-000062)]. Green was arrested the next day. [Pl. Ex. 6(A), Incident Report
(PJ-000064)]. Green has since described his conduct in a letter to Judge Shabaz. [Pl. Ex. 1, Letter of Brandon Green
(PJ-000002-000004)].
Gemini is
owned and operated by Tina Cecil, the company's sole shareholder. [P1. Ex. 16,
Dep. Digest-Tina Cecil (PJ-000293)]. Ms. Cecil's husband, Robert Cecil, is the
general manager of Pitts Sales, Inc. (hereinafter Pitts), another traveling magazine subscription sales company. [Pl.
Ex. 16, Dep. Digest-Tina Cecil (PJ-000293); Pl. Ex. 13,
Decision And Order 3 X v. Pitts 06-CV-195
Dep. Digest-Vincent Pitts(PJ-000223)]. Pitts is owned by Vincent Pitts. [Pl. Ex.
13, Dep. Digest-Vincent Pitts (PJ-000222)]. Mr. Pitts also owns Palmetto
Marketing, Inc., n/k/a Sunshine Subscription Agency, Inc. (hereinafter Palmetto), a company that processes
subscription orders that have been solicited by traveling magazine subscription
sales crews. [Pl. Ex. 13, Dep. Digest-Vincent Pitts (PJ-000221-000222)]. At the
time Green assaulted X, both Gemini and Pitts were processing their
subscription orders through Palmetto, although Gemini has since terminated its
contract with Palmetto. [Def. Ex. 8, Def. Ans. to Pl. Interrog. 4 (4); Supp. Aff.Vincent
Pitts,
Gemini was
incorporated in 2002, [Pl. Ex. 16, Dep. Digest-Tina Cecil (PJ000258)], after
Ms. Cecil and Mr. Cecil were married in 2001 [Supp. Aff. Tina
Cecil,
Mr. Cecil
conducted the morning meeting for both crews. [Supp. Aff. Tina
Cecil (
Decision And Order 4 X v. Pitts 06-CV-195
for both
crews, ran background checks (under the name of PMI, for Palmetto Marketing,
Inc.) on prospective employees for both crews, performed other secretarial
tasks for both crews, and handled other issues regarding Pitts when Mr. Cecil
was unavailable. [Pl. Ex. 61, Dep. Digest-Tina Cecil (PJ-000258-000259)].
Mr. and Ms.
Cecil determined where the sales crews traveled and who was assigned to which
vans. [Pl. Ex. 12, Dep. Digest-Brandon Green (PJ-000190)]. The driver of each
van assigned the salespeople in his van to their specific territories, telling
the salespeople where and when they would be picked up, and ultimately
determining when enough sales had been solicited to quit for the day. [Def. Ex.
3, Dep. Brandon Green (38-39)]. Each salesperson was given a commission on each
sale; however, the commission was not immediately received by the salesperson.
Instead, Mr. and Ms. Cecil maintained a log for each employee which records the
commissions and subtracts an amount for lodging. Mr. and Ms. Cecil gave each
employee a specific amount of money per day and any remaining balance was to be
disbursed to the employees each Sunday. [Deposition Brandon Green (
When
crewmembers were soliciting sales, they utilized materials produced by
Palmetto. [Pl. Ex. 16, Dep. Digest-Tina Cecil (PJ-000281)]. The list of
available magazines, including the prices for them, was created by Palmetto
[Pl. Ex. 16, Dep. Digest-Tina Cecil (PJ-000281)] and specifically stated that
sales agents do not have the authority to change any prices [Pl. Ex. 23(E)
(PJ-000446-000448)]. The receipts listed Palmetto as the company (on behalf of
whom the sale was being solicited) and all checks were made out to Palmetto
Marketing, Inc. [Pl. Ex. 16, Dep. Digest-Tina Cecil (PJ000282)]. If a customer
wished to cancel an order, Palmetto specified the cancellation
Decision And Order 5 X v. Pitts 06-CV-195
policy on the back
of the receipt, which required that the customer contact Palmetto directly. The
sales rewards programs were organized by Palmetto. The materials for that
program, including the point-values of each subscription, were also produced by
Palmetto. [Pl. Ex. 16, Dep. Digest-Tina Cecil (PJ-000294)]. In fact, the name
of the subscription sales company, in this case either Gemini or Pitts, did not appear anywhere and any potential customer
was not aware that the salesperson actually worked for a company other than
Palmetto. Because Palmetto is the only name that appears on the documentation,
criminal citations for soliciting without a proper permit were issued against
Palmetto and Palmetto paid the fines. [Pl. Ex. 5, Aff. Charles
Wysocky ¶ 8 (PJ000029)]. Palmetto, Pitts and Gemini are all
X is suing
Green, Gemini, Pitts, Palmetto, Ms. Cecil, Mr. Cecil and Mr. Pitts for damages
arising out of Green's sexual assault of X. Pitts, Palmetto, Ms. Cecil, Mr.
Cecil and Mr. Pitts filed motions to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction.
X opposes these motions and argues that the
IV. Discussion
A. Piercing The
Corporate Veil
1. Legal Standard For
Disregarding The Corporate Form.
A
corporation exists as a distinct entity and this legal fiction is not to be
lightly disregarded. See Milwaukee Tov
Co. v. Indus. Comm'n, 203
Decision And Order 6 X v. Pitts 06-CV-195
and disregard
this distinction; however, when the corporation is the alter ego or mere
instrumentality of its shareholders. (See Consumer's Co-Op, 142 Wis.2d at 484). In order to pierce the corporate veil,
two elements must be satisfied. First, there must be a complete domination of
corporate finances, policy and business practices by shareholders such that the
corporation does not have an independent existence. [See Consumer's
CoQ, 142 Wis.2d at 484; Wiebke
v. Richardson & Sons, Inc., 83 Wis.2d 359, 363 (
The rule for
determining when to pierce the corporate veil is flexible and the Court will
look at the totality of the circumstances when deciding whether a corporation
has its own existence or is merely the shareholder's alter ego. [See Consumer's
Co-Op, 142 Wis.2d at 485-486 (stating that piercing the corporate veil is
an equitable remedy which must remain flexible and, therefore, there is no one
determinative factor but rather is a range of possible factors which may
combine to demonstrate that the corporation did not have an independent
existence)]. Factors that may demonstrate that the corporation is the alter ego
of its shareholder are failure to observe corporate formalities, non-payment of
dividends, siphoning of corporate funds or draining of corporate coffers, nonfunctioning
of directors, lack of corporate records, use of corporate funds to pay personal
expenses and lack of repayment of amounts borrowed from the corporation. See
Wiebke, 83 Wis.2d at 364 (piercing the
corporate veil when the sole shareholder used the corporate checking account as
his personal account, did not repay the corporation for
Decision And Order 7 X v. Pitts 06-CV-195
money spent
on personal expenses, rarely took wages, and credited what he claimed was a
personal loan to his business account); Olen v. Phelps, 200 Wis.2d 155,
162 (Wis. Ct. App. 1996) (piercing the corporate veil when the company's sole
shareholder and director handled all decisions informally and did not keep
minutes, treated corporate funds as personal funds, used corporate funds to pay
personal debts and mortgages on personal property and treated corporate assets
as personal assets by conveying the office building owned by the corporation to
his daughter as a "nest egg")].
In a closely
held corporation, the mere lack of formality is generally insufficient
to pierce the
corporate veil and a more determinative factor will be the use of corporate
funds for personal expenses. [Compare Consumer's Co-Op, 142
Wis.2d at 488 (finding insufficient evidence to pierce corporate veil when the
company had elected officers, meetings were held even if minutes weren't taken,
all business was undertaken under the corporate name, and, although defendant
did use some personal funds to infuse capital, this mixing of personal and corporate
funds was not improper because it was approved by the board and was used to
increase, rather than decrease, corporate capital), with Wiebke. 83 Wis.2d at 364 (primarily
discussing the intermingling of corporate and personal funds, assets and debts
as the reason to pierce the corporate veil), and Olen, 200 Wis.2d at 162
(discussing lack of formality but primarily focusing on the use of corporate
funds for personal debts and the, fact that defendant assigned
ownership of a corporate building to his daughter for the purpose of creating a
"nest egg")].
In cases
where sufficient factors exist to demonstrate the lack of a separate corporate
identity, the corporate fiction will be disregarded when treating the
corporation and the dominant shareholder as separate entities would result in
injustice or fraud. See
Decision And Order 8 X v. Pitts 06-CV-195
Wiebke 83 Wis.2d at 364; Olen, 200
Wis.2d at 162. See also Consumer's Co-On,
142 Wis.2d at 494]. Inadequate capitalization or inability of the
shareholder to satisfy a judgment can be sufficient, when combined with the
complete domination of corporate affairs, to show that an injustice would
result if the corporate fiction is not disregarded. [Compare, Wiebke. 83
Wis.2d at 364 (piercing the corporate veil and holding the corporation liable
for a personal debt when not doing so would result in an injustice because the
shareholder had been declared bankrupt and a judgment on a personal loan
against him had been dismissed, but the creditor, the shareholder's housekeeper,
had thought the loan was being taken by the business and had been told the loan
would be used for business expenses), and
Olen, 200 Wis.2d at 162 (piercing the corporate veil and finding
that the shareholder fraudulently tried to hide assets to avoid satisfying the
judgment when he transferred ownership of the corporate building and a personal
property to his daughter as a "nest egg" but the daughter was not
aware of the conveyance and the corporation continued to pay the mortgage on
both properties), with Consumer's Co-Op, 142 Wis.2d at 494 (finding
that, under these circumstances, no injustice would result in upholding the
corporate fiction because the corporation was adequately capitalized at its
inception and because the creditor was aware that the business was failing and
continued to extend credit, against its own stated policies, and never asked
for a personal guarantee on the credit)].
2. Palmetto and Vincent Pitts
This Court
finds that Palmetto should be treated as Mr. Pitts's alter ego. Mr. Pitts and
his wife are the sole shareholders. [Pl. Ex. 13, Dep. Digest-Vincent Pitts (PJ000221)].
Mr. Pitts is the President, there is no board of directors, and there are no
Decision And Order 9 X v. Pitts 06-CV-195
Palmetto employees in managerial positions, just seven employees in
clerical positions. [Pl. Ex. 13, Dep. Digest-Vincent Pitts (PJ-000221)].
Mr. Pitts stated in his deposition testimony that he makes all of the decisions
and does not meet with anyone in the process. [Pl. Ex. 13, Dep. Digest-Vincent
Pitts (PJ-000221)]. As such, Mr. Pitts exercises complete control over
Palmetto.
Mr. Pitts
uses corporate funds to pay personal expenses, including the mortgage payment
on a yacht owned by Mr. & Ms. Pitts personally and registered to their home
address [Pl. Ex. 22(C) (PJ-000394-000403)], the payments on the Mercedes-Benz
that Mr. Pitts uses for both business and personal transportation [Pl. Ex. 13,
Dep. DigestVincent Pitts (PJ-000227)], and a bill to
"Phil's Expert Tree Service" in the amount of $1,500 [Pl. Ex. 23(D)
(PJ-000434)], even though Palmetto leases its office space.
In addition, Mr. Pitts intermingles corporate debts and assets, as the
balance remaining on the mortgage for the yacht ($430,092.58) registered to Mr. & Ms. Pitts individually is listed as a liability on
the Palmetto statements of assets and liabilities. [Pl. Ex. 23(B) (PJ-000427)].
Further, Palmetto lists as a current asset an amount "DUE FROM
SHAREHOLDER" as $155,925.28. [Pl. Ex. 23(B) (PJ-000426)). Palmetto's total
current assets are $202,431.41. [Pl. Ex. 23(B) (PJ-000426)]. Thus, as Mr. &
Ms. Pitts are Palmetto's sole shareholders, 77% of Palmetto's current assets is a loan due from Mr. Pitts. There is no evidence in the
corporate accounting that Mr. Pitts has repaid any of this amount.
The loan is essentially a tax-free, interest-free loan from Palmetto to Mr.
Pitts, representing a vast majority of Palmetto's assets. [Pl. Ex. 25, Aff.
William Spitz (PJ-000507)]. This suggests to the Court that Mr. Pitts is in
complete control of Palmetto's finances. [Pl. Ex. 25, Aff. William Spitz
(PJ-000507)].
Decision And Order 10 X v. Pitts 06-CV-195
As a sub-S
corporation, Palmetto does not retain any earnings, but rather any profits are
disbursed to Mr. Pitts personally. [P1. Ex. 13, Dep. Digest-Vincent
Pitts (PJ000226)]. Palmetto has described assets and liabilities in the
exact same amount. [Pl. Ex. 23(B) (PJ-000426-000427)]. Further, Mr. Pitts
stated that Palmetto has approximately $60,000 in its operating account and
that Palmetto's assets are "very miniscule." [Pl. Ex. 13, Dep.
Digest-Vincent Pitts (PJ-000230)]. According to the plaintiffs
accountant, who reviewed these records, Palmetto was undercapitalized. [Pl. Ex.
25, Aff. William Spitz (PJ-000507)]. Additionally, Palmetto does not carry
liability insurance. [Pl. Ex.13, Dep. Digest-Vincent Pitts (PJ-000228)]. Thus,
Palmetto is without assets to satisfy any judgment entered against it.
Palmetto is
under the absolute control of Mr. Pitts. Mr. Pitts has used corporate funds as
his own, as well as intermingling corporate and personal assets and
liabilities. As such, Palmetto is without funds to satisfy any judgment that
would be entered against it. Thus, failing to pierce the corporate veil would
result in injustice. For the purposes of exercising personal jurisdiction, the
Court finds it proper and justified to pierce the corporate veil and treat
Palmetto as the alter ego of Mr. Pitts.
3. Gemini and Tina Cecil
This Court
finds that Gemini should be treated as Ms. Cecil's alter ego. Ms. Cecil has
complete domination over corporate policy and business practices, as she is the
owner and only manager [Pl. Ex. 16, Dep. Digest-Tina Cecil (PJ-000293)]. In
addition, Ms. Cecil is the only officer and makes all decisions regarding
Gemini [Pl. Ex. 16, Dep. Digest-Tina Cecil (PJ-000289)]. Based on the evidence,
Ms. Cecil also uses corporate funds for personal expenses, as the corporation
leases a vehicle which Ms. Cecil uses for
Decision And Order 11 X v. Pitts 06-CV-195
personal as well as business purposes. [Pl. Ex. 16, Dep.
Digest-Tina Cecil (PJ-000288000289, 000298)].
As a sub-S corporation, Gemini does not retain any earnings. Instead, any
profits are paid to Ms. Cecil personally. [Pl. Ex. 16, Dep. Digest-Tina Cecil
(PJ-000000287)]. Ms. Cecil approximates this amount as $120,000 in 2004. [Pl.
Ex. 16, Dep. Digest-Tina Cecil (PJ-000287)]. Gemini has very limited corporate
assets, a 1999 Ford Club Wagon and a 2004 Ford Club Wagon. [Pl. Ex. 16, Dep.
Digest-Tina Cecil (PJ-000261)]. Additionally, Gemini does not carry liability
insurance. [P1. Ex. 16, Dep. Digest-Tina Cecil (PJ-000261)]. Thus, Gemini
arguably does not have sufficient assets to satisfy any judgment entered
against it.
In summary,
Gemini is under the complete control of Ms. Cecil, as Ms. Cecil is the sole
shareholder, officer and manager. Ms. Cecil uses corporate funds for personal
benefit. The corporation retains very limited assets and does not carry
liability insurance. Therefore, the corporation would likely be unable to
satisfy a judgment entered against it, which would likely result in an
injustice. For the purposes of exercising personal jurisdiction, the Court has
sufficient evidence to pierce the corporate veil and treat Gemini as Ms.
Cecil's alter ego.
4. Gemini, Pitts and Palmetto
It is the opinion of the Court that Gemini and Pitts should be treated as
alter egos of Palmetto. Palmetto exercised sufficient control over Gemini and
Pitts, and the corporations are sufficiently intertwined, so that the Court can
disregard the corporate forms of Gemini and Pitts and treat all three as one
entity. Palmetto dictates many business practices of Gemini and Pitts. Palmetto
also controls the flow of money for
Decision And Order 12 X v. Pitts 06-CV-195
Gemini and Pitts. Gemini and Pitts are supposedly
competitors in the same industry, yet they behave in a remarkably cooperative
manner. Ultimately, they appear to function as one unit. Furthermore, there are
additional links between the corporations which tend to show that they, for all
relative purposes, do not act as distinct corporate entities.
Palmetto
dictates the business practices and controls the money for all three
corporations. Palmetto establishes the list of available subscriptions and the
prices for those subscriptions. [P1. Ex. 16, Dep. Digest-Tina Cecil
(PJ-000281)]. Neither Gemini nor Pitts may raise these prices for a greater
profit or lower these prices to guarantee a sale. [Pl. Ex. 23(E)
(PJ-000446-000448)]. Palmetto provides the marketing materials for Gemini and
Pitts, including brochures and subscription price lists. Palmetto provides
sales receipts to Gemini and Pitts. The sales receipts provided by Palmetto
instruct purchasers to make checks payable directly to Palmetto Marketing,
Inc., and Palmetto dictates the cancellation policy. [Pl. Ex. 16, Dep.
Digest-Tina Cecil (PJ-000281000282)]. Palmetto receives the money from sales.
Palmetto keeps a ledger for each company and then credits Gemini and Pitts with
their share of sales. Palmetto keeps a log of how much Gemini and Pitts owe for
sales materials and deducts that from the amount listed in the ledger. Palmetto
also deducts amounts for any cancellations received on orders sold by each
company. Upon request, Palmetto will disburse to either company any positive
balance shown in the ledger. [Pl. Ex. 16, Dep. Digest-Tina Cecil (PJ000284-000287)].
Mr. Pitts is
the owner of Pitts and Palmetto, and arguably Palmetto's alter ego, and it
appears he rarely requests such disbursement on behalf of Pitts, as Palmetto
lists in its statement of assets, as a negative asset, an amount due to Pitts
of $56,910.88. [Pl. Ex.
Decision And Order 13 X v. Pitts 06-CV-195
23(B)
(PJ-000426)]. Thus, Palmetto retains control over much of Pitts's
money. Palmetto also coordinates the sales-rewards programs in which sales
agents for both Pitts and Gemini participate. This includes setting the amount
of points awarded for each subscription and determining which subscriptions
qualified for double or triple points. [Pl. Ex. 16, Dep. Digest-Tina Cecil
(PJ-000294)]. This also includes providing materials for this program to the
sales agents, who then share this information with the potential customers to
try and induce sales. [Pl. Ex. 18 (PJ-000322)].
Ultimately,
it is difficult to differentiate the businesses from one another based on the
actions of Palmetto. Palmetto dictates the prices to be charged by Pitts and
Gemini and the manner for payment and refund, controls the flow of all money to
Gemini and Pitts, and supplies some of the sales techniques, including the materials
needed to implement them. This is a substantially high level of control
exercised by Palmetto over Gemini and Pitts.
Gemini and
Pitts, who are competitors in the same industry, coordinate and cooperate in a
manner that suggests they are, for all practical purposes, actually functioning
as one unit. Mr. Cecil, who is the general manager of Pitts, conducts morning
meetings for both sales crews and motivates them to make high volumes of sales.
[Pl. Ex. 12, Dep. Digest-Brandon Green (PJ-000190); Supp.
Aff. Tina Cecil,
Decision And Order 14 X v. Pitts 06-CV-195
receive any compensation from Gemini for
these services.
Ms. Cecil performs secretarial tasks for both Gemini and Pitts. Ms. Cecil
arranges hotel accommodations for both crews, ensuring that there are enough
rooms for both crews and members from separate crews are housed on separate
ends of the hotel. Ms. Cecil also places newspaper ads to recruit employees for
both companies. [Pl. Ex. 16, Dep. Digest-Tina Cecil (PJ-000258-000259)]. When
she does this, Mr. Pitts tells her in which publications to place recruitment
ads for Pitts and then she selects alternate publications in which to place
recruitment ads for Gemini. [Pl. Ex. 16, Dep. Digest-Tina Cecil
(PJ-000277-000279)]. Finally, Ms. Cecil runs background checks on new employees
for both companies. The account with the company who runs the background checks
is held in the name of PMI, for Palmetto Marketing, Inc.1 [Pl. Ex.
16, Dep. Digest-Tina Cecil (PJ-000258-000259)]. Ms. Cecil draws a small salary
from Pitts for her services. [Pl. Ex. 16, Dep. Digest-Tina Cecil PJ-000290)].
Avoiding placing recruitment ads in the same publications may or may not be
seen as cooperation, as this is a relatively unilateral act of Ms. Cecil.
However, to this Court it appears highly suggestive of cooperation. The crews
also have additional means of cooperation. Mr. and Ms. Cecil discuss their
sales areas and send their crews to different geographic regions to avoid
overlapping territory. [Pl. Ex. 16, Dep. Digest-Tina Cecil (PJ-000259)]. They
also place members from one crew with members of the other
This is puzzling
because, if the corporate fictions are upheld, Ms. Cecil has nothing but a
contractual relationship for subscription processing with Palmetto. She would
be running background checks on behalf of Gemini or Pitts for prospective
employees of those two companies and none of this bears even remotely on
Palmetto. Why Ms. Cecil would instinctively create the account in the name of
PMI is baffling if her relationship with Palmetto is truly the attenuated
contractual relationship that they claim exists. Further, if Gemini and Pitts
are truly distinct entities, it is puzzling that they would not have separate
accounts for running background checks, as they would need to be billed
separately and would need to pay these bills from separate accounts. Most mystifying
is that the results of these background checks are sent to PMI at the corporate
address in
Decision And Order 15 X v. Pitts
06-CV-195
when they feel that the specific group will have a positive
chemistry which will lead to higher sales. [Pl. Ex. 24, Aff. Brandon
Green ¶ 6 (PJ-000502)]. While defendants claim that the two crews are
distinct entities, in reality they function as one unit. Ms. Cecil performs the
clerical tasks. Mr. Cecil, who is more of a "people person", handles
the crews, which are working together in a mutually inclusive form to generate
the highest sales.
There are
several indicia that further tie the three companies together, demonstrating
they all function as one unit headed by Palmetto. Although the defendants rely
on their contractual agreements to demonstrate distinct legal entities, this
does very little to substantiate their case. Their professed abiding by
restrictive terms in the contract, ignores terms which
would suggest autonomy. For example, in the contract between Palmetto and
Gemini, one term that would suggest distance between the companies is term 9.
Term 9 states that Palmetto is not required to provide
Gemini with sales materials [Pl. Ex. 7 (PJ-000096)]. This would suggest that
Gemini creates its own sales materials. Although Palmetto is not required to
provide sales materials, it does so anyway [Pl. Ex. 16 (PJ-00028 1)]. Term 9,
therefore, does little to show that they are separate entities.
In addition,
there are services which Palmetto provides to Pitts and Gemini which are not
included in the contract and which tend to show a close relationship between
the companies. All three companies share the same mailing address. They claim
that Palmetto receives mail for all the companies for whom it processes orders.
However, this service is not specified anywhere in the contract between Gemini
and Palmetto.
Palmetto
leases and insures a vehicle for Ms. Cecil, which Gemini then leases
Decision And Order 16 X v. Pitts 06-CV-195
from Palmetto and which Ms. Cecil uses for business and personal
transportation [Pl. Ex. 16, Dep. Digest-Tina Cecil (PJ-000288)]. However,
contractually, Palmetto is not responsible for providing a vehicle for Ms.
Cecil. Ms. Cecil processes background checks in the name of PMI. [Pl. Ex. 16,
Dep. Digest-Tina Cecil (PJ-000258)]. Palmetto pays fines on citations issued to
Gemini employees for solicitation without a permit [Pl. Ex. 5, Aff. Charles Wysocky ¶ 8 (PJ-000029)]. However, this is in direct
conflict with a contractual term which explicitly states that Palmetto is not
responsible for securing sales permits.
Palmetto,
Pitts and Gemini are closely linked and any distinctions between them are
blurred, if nonexistent. Gemini and Pitts behave cooperatively, rather than
competitively, even though they are companies that fill the exact same
functions in the same industry and should be competing for the same customers.
Ms. Cecil provides services for Pitts and Mr. Cecil provides services for
Gemini. Palmetto exercises a great degree of control over both corporations,
including setting prices, dictating sales and return policies, receiving money
and issuing all refunds on orders, and tracking and controlling the flow of
funds. The companies ignore many of the terms of their contractual agreements
and Palmetto provides many services which are not indicated in the contract.
These corporations have failed to keep their affairs separate and distinct and
therefore the Court should not attempt to do so. (See Wiebke,
83 Wis.2d at 364). The Court pierces the corporate
veils of Gemini and Pitts, treating them as Palmetto's alter egos.
Decision And Order 17 X v. Pitts 06-CV-195
B. Agency
1. The Doctrine of Respondeat
Superior
The doctrine
of respondeat superior, also known as
the master/servant doctrine, is a strict liability doctrine whereby a master is
liable for the torts of his servant regardless of the master's own conduct.2
[See Kerl v. Dennis Rasmussen, Inc.,
2004 WI 86, ¶ 21, 273 Wis.2d 106, 118 (Wis. 2004)].
(1) A master
is subject to liability for the torts of his servants committed
while acting in
the scope of their employment.
(2) A master
is not subject to liability for the torts of his servants acting
outside the scope
of their employment, unless:
(a) the master intended the conduct or the
consequences, or (b) the master was negligent or reckless, or
(c) the
conduct violated a non-delegable duty of the master, or (d) the servant
purported to act or to speak on behalf of the
principal and there
was reliance upon apparent authority, or he
was aided in
accomplishing the tort by the existence of the
agency relation.
See Kerl, 2004 WI 86,123, 273
Wis.2d at 120).
Under this doctrine, an
employer will be liable for the torts of his employee, but not the torts of an
independent contractor. [See Kerl, 2004
WI 86, 127, 273 Wis.2d at 122 (stating that vicarious liability will only
result from a master/servant relationship); Arsand
v. City of Franklin, 83 Wis.2d 40, 56 (
z The courts and the Restatement (Third) of Agency (2006) have
begun using the terms "employer" and "employee" rather than
"master" and "servant." In this memo, "employer"
and "employee" will be used and are synonymous with the older terms
"master" and "servant."
3 The
Restatement (Second) of Agency has been superseded by the Restatement (Third)
of Agency (2006). The Restatement (Third) of Agency now uses the terms
"employer" and "employee" rather than "master"
and "servant." The doctrine of respondeat
superior remains substantially unchanged in regard to servants/employees
acting within the scope of their employment.
Decision And Order 18 X v. Pitts 06-CV-195
depends on
whether the actor was a servant or an independent contractor); Snider v. N.
States Power Co., 81 Wis.2d 224, 232 (
The test for whether an actor is an employee or an independent contractor
is a factual one and the term "independent contractor" in a contract
is not dispositive. See Kerl, 2004 WI
86, 124, 273 Wis.2d at 121 ("The use of the label "independent
contractor" in the contract between the parties is not by itself
dispositive; the test looks beyond labels to factual indicia."). See
also Harris v. Richland Motors, Inc., 7 Wis.2d 472, 480 (Wis. 1959)
(affirming the denial of defendant's motion for summary judgment when the facts
in the record show that there is an question of fact as to whether the actor
was an independent contractor or an employee of the defendant); Thum v. La Crosse, Liquor Co., 258
Wis. 448, 455 (Wis. 1951) (reinstating a jury verdict after explaining that the
inferences to be made were questions of fact and that there was enough evidence
to support the jury's finding that the actor was an employee of the defendant,
rather than an independent contractor)].
4
(1) A master is a principal who
employs an agent to perform service in his affairs and who controls or has the
right to control the physical conduct of the other in the performance of the
service.
(2) A servant is an agent employed
by a master to perform service in his affairs whose physical conduct in the
performance of the service is controlled or is subject to the right to control
by the master.
(3) An independent contractor is a
person who contracts with another to do something for him but who is not
controlled by the other nor subject to the other's
right to control with respect to this physical conduct in the performance of
the undertaking. He may or may not be an agent.
(1958). See Arsand v. City of Franklin, 83 Wis.2d 40 (
Decision And Order 19
X Y. Pitts 06-CV-195
The primary
distinction between an employee and an independent contractor is the degree of
control that the worker has over his actions. [See Snider, 81 Wis.2d at
232 ("The most important single criterion in determining whether a person
is an independent contractor is the degree to which the owner, rather than the
independent contractor, retains the right to control the details of the
work."). See also Harris, 7 Wis.2d at 478 (discussing
owner's control over details of employee's work)]. The Restatement (Second) of
Agency § 220 has codified this definition of servant which relies on the right
of the employer to control the activities of the employee and has listed
several factors which support a finding that the actor is an employee rather
than an independent contractors Wisconsin has adopted § 220 of the Restatement
(Second) of Agency. [See Heims
v. Hanke, 5 Wis.2d 465, 468 (
To determine
the level of control that the employer retains over the actions of the worker,
the Court will look to see the amount of supervision that the employer
exercises over the actor and the level of detail with which the employer
controls the undertaking.
5 Restatement
(Second) of Agency, § 220 (1958), states gives the
definition of a servant as:
(1) A
servant is a person employed to perform services in the affairs of another and
who with respect to the physical conduct on the performance of the services is
subject to the other's control or right to control.
(2) In determining whether one
acting for another is a servant or an independent contractor, the
following matters of
fact, among others, are considered:
(a) the
extent of control which, by the agreement, the master may exercise over the
details of
the work;
(b) whether
or not the one employed is engaged in a distinct occupation or business;
(c) the
kind of occupation, with reference to whether, in the locality, the work is
usually done
under the
direction of the employer or by a specialist without supervision; (d) the skill
required in the particular occupation;
(e) whether the employer or the workman supplies the
instrumentalities, tools, and the place of work for the person doing the work;
(f) the
length of time for which the person is employed;
(g) the
method of payment, whether by the time or by the job;
(h) whether
or not the work is a part of the regular business of the employer;
(i) whether or not the parties believe they are creating the
relation of master and servant; and (j) whether the principle is or is not in
business.
Decision And Order 20 X v. Pitts 06-CV-195
Compare Harris,
7 Wis.2d at 478-479 (listing the following factors as evidence which would tend
to support an employer/employee relationship: the owner
"hired" and could "discharge" the worker and the worker
could "quit," the owner authorized any price reduction and
established the value of each car traded in, the owner authorized credit and
determined which financing company to use in each sale, the owner instructed
the worker to collect on payments or repossess cars when the worker's customers
fell behind in payments, the owner reviewed the worker's list of prospective
customers and where the worker was going to make these sales, the owner had the
right to send the worker out to visit prospective customers, the owner had the
worker watch the garage when the owner was unavailable, the owner sent the
worker out to buy used cars for the company or drive new cars to the company's
lot, and the owner deducted social security, tax withholdings and insurance
premiums from the worker's commission checks), and Thurn 258 Wis. at 452-453 (listing
the factors which supported the jury's decision that the relationship was an
employer/employee one as: the employee needed a "job" so the employer
"hired" him, orders from the employee's area that were phoned into
the company were credited to the employee, the company would instruct the
employee to only accept COD from customers with bad credit, the employee
collected accounts and issued receipts in the company's name, the employee had
some discretion when granting discounts but the company placed limits on the
discounts, the company would alert the employee when his sales were down, the
company had established routes and delivery days that the employee had to
comply with, and on the day in question the employee phoned the company to say
he had a headache and would not be working that afternoon), with Snider,
81 Wis.2d at 232 (finding that the worker was an independent contractor when
the company made no effort
Decision And Order 21 X v. Pitts 06-CV-195
to supervise the worker or the
details of the work and that the company only inspected the work once completed
to ensure that the work complied with the contract's specifications)].
There is
overwhelming evidence in the record demonstrating that Green was an employee of
Gemini, rather than an independent contractor. Further, Gemini is not
challenging the jurisdiction of the
Thus, the
Court will need to examine the level of control that Palmetto exercised over
Gemini and Pitts to determine whether those corporations were acting as
independent contractors or as employees of Palmetto. If they were acting as
employees of Palmetto, Palmetto can be held liable for their actions and their
contacts with the state of
2. Gemini, Pitts and Palmetto
For the
purpose of exercising personal jurisdiction, Gemini and Pitts should be
considered employees of Palmetto, rather than independent contractors. Palmetto
exercised sufficient control over both corporations and dictated their actions
to a sufficiently detailed level to support a finding that they were Palmetto
employees. Palmetto determined which magazine subscriptions would be available
for sale and at what prices these subscriptions would be sold. [Pl. Ex. 16,
Dep. Digest-Tina Cecil (PJ
Decision And Order 22 X v. Pitts 06-CV-195
000281)]. Gemini, Pitts, and the sales agents had no authority
to change these prices.6
[Pl. Ex. 23(E) (PJ-000446-000448)].
Palmetto provided all of the sales materials to Gemini and Pitts, including
available subscriptions with price lists, brochures, and sales receipts. [Pl.
Ex. 16, Dep. Digest-Tina Cecil (PJ-00028 1)]. These sales receipts instructed
purchasers to make checks payable to Palmetto Marketing, Inc., rather than to
the sales companies. [Pl. Ex. 16, Dep. Digest-Tina Cecil (PJ-000282)]. These
sales receipts also stated Palmetto's cancellation policy, which required the
purchaser to submit a cancellation to Palmetto in writing, within three
business days of the date of purchase. Gemini, Pitts and the sales agents were
not able to provide alternatives to this policy.' Further, Palmetto collected
all funds and then kept a log of the subscription sales of each company, the
amount of money to credit to each company for the sales, and the amount spent
by each company on sales materials. Palmetto would then disburse these amounts
of money to the sales companies at their request. [Pl. Ex. 16, Dep. Digest-Tina
Cecil (PJ-000284-000287)].
Defendants Gemini and Palmetto rely on the terms of their contract to
demonstrate that Gemini is an independent contractor. The Court, however, is
required to look beyond contractual labels to factual indicia. (See Kerl, 2004 WI 86, ¶ 24, 273
Wis.2d at 121). The evidence demonstrates that the companies do not abide
by many of the contractual terms which would, if followed, indicate that Gemini
is an independent contractor. The contractual terms which are followed are
those restrictive terms through
6 For example,
Gemini did not have the authority to charge a higher price for a greater profit
and sales agents were not authorized to grant discounts to secure sales.
7 For example, there is a complaint on record with the
Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade, and Consumer Protection detailing
an account where a sales agent told a customer that she could call a specific
phone number, which the agent wrote
on the receipt, to cancel her order. The customer called this number to find it
was out of service and then placed a stop-payment on her check. Palmetto
refused to cancel this order because the request did not fall within its stated
procedures. Thus, the sales agent had no authority to specify an alternate mode
or cancellation. (Pl. Ex. 18 (PJ-000321-000336)).
Decision And Order 23 X v. Pitts 06-CV-195
which Palmetto dictates the practices that Gemini must follow.
Those terms which are not followed are superseded by behaviors which tend to
indicate that Palmetto has control over Gemini's decisions. For example, Term
2.2 of the contract states that "[t]he Servicer
will furnish the Subscription Sales Company up-to-date information concerning
the availability of magazines and other publications .... Such information
shall include, but not be limited to, ...the suggested
retail price for such publications." [Pl. Ex. 7 (PJ000094)].
However, although the contract states that they will provide a suggested retail
price, the price lists actually provided by Palmetto state that
"SALESPERSON HAS NO AUTHORITY TO CHANGE ANY PRICES." [Pl. Ex. 23(E)
(PJ-000446-000448)]. Term 2.4 discusses refunds for cancellations and states
that the "Servicer shall make refunds directly
to consumers on behalf of the Subscription Sales Company." [Pl. Ex. 7 (PJ-000094)].
Term 5 of
the contract prohibits the use or adoption by the sales company of the name
Palmetto, [Pl. Ex. 7 (PJ-000095)]; however, most of the materials supplied to
the sales companies (including the price lists and receipts) have the name
Palmetto printed on them and do not contain the names of the individual sales
companies, [Pl. Ex. 23(E) (PJ000446-000451)]. Term 9 of the contract states
that the Servicer is not obligated to provide any
sales materials to the sales company, [Pl. Ex. 7 (PJ-000096)]. Although
Palmetto is not required to provide any materials, it does provide many materials,
including price lists, brochures and receipts. Finally, terms 10 and 11 state
that the sales company is responsible for all licensing fees and is responsible
to ensure that its employees follow all applicable laws. [P1. Ex. 7 (PJ-000096)]. There is at least one documented
instance where Palmetto paid a fine in
Decision And Order 24 X v. Pitts 06-CV-195
violating a local ordinance requiring door-to-door sales agents
to obtain licenses. [Pl. Ex. 5-Aff. Charles Wysocky
(PJ-000029)].
Thus, terms which would tend to show a distance between the companies, such
as a suggested price list, the prohibition of using the servicer's
name, and the placing of responsibility for abiding the law and obtaining
licenses on the sales company, have been disregarded. Other terms which would
suggest autonomy consistent with an independent contractor, such as the term
which states that the servicer is not required to
provide sales materials, are of little weight (whether required to by contract
or not), since Palmetto did provide Gemini with all sales materials.
Palmetto did not dictate certain decisions made by Gemini and Pitts. Gemini
and Pitts were free to hire and fire whomever they chose. They were free to
travel within the continental
a The extent
to which Gemini and Pitts could truly choose their own sales territories is
questionable. Therefore, any actions of Palmetto are the actions of Mr. Pitts.
Mr. Pitts is also the owner of Pitts Sales and thereby dictates where the Pitts
Sales crew travels. Thus, while Palmetto may not be dictating where the Pitts
Sales crew was to travel, per se, Mr.
Pitts told the Pitts Sales crew where to travel and, as Mr. Pitts is Palmetto,
Palmetto told the Pitts Sales crew where to travel via its alter ego, Mr.
Pitts. As Ms. Cecil would typically choose to have the Gemini crew travel with
the Pitts Sales crew, a practice that was known to Mr. Pitts, Palmetto, through
its alter-ego Mr. Pitts, was effectively dictating where both crews would
travel.
Decision And Order 25 X v. Pitts 06-CV-195
contractors. For the
purpose of exercising personal jurisdiction over Palmetto, the Court finds that
such a relationship existed.
3. Robert Cecil
Mr. Cecil
exercised sufficient control of Green's actions so that he should be considered
an employer of Green and be held to answer for Green's actions through the
doctrine of respondeat superior. As
discussed above, Mr. Cecil and Ms. Cecil operated in such a fashion that the
affairs of Gemini and Pitts are intertwined and each played a role in the
operation and management of the other.
Mr. Cecil
conducted morning meetings where, among other things, the van/driver
assignments for the day were announced for both Gemini and Pitts, including
those meetings that Green attended. [Pl. Ex. 12, Dep. Digest-Brandon Green
(PJ-000190)]. Mr. Cecil explained the policies to both Gemini and Pitts
employees, including giving Green a brief orientation [Pl. Ex. 12, Dep.
Digest-Brandon Green (PJ-000210)], and instructing Green not to use any drugs
while working and to keep to himself any drug use on his own time [P1. Ex. 12,
Dep. Digest-Brandon Green (PJ-000198, 000217)]. Mr. Cecil rewarded both Gemini
and Pitts employees for high sales volumes, including
handing out cash bonuses to high sellers while Green was working for Gemini.
[P1. Ex. 12, Dep. Digest-Brandon Green (PJ-000192)]. Mr. Cecil punished both
Gemini and Pitts employees for misconduct, including
instructing Green to stay in his room after Mr. Cecil encountered him drunk and
high one night. [Pl. Ex. 12, Dep. Digest-Brandon Green (PJ000211)].
Ultimately,
this Court finds that Mr. Cecil exercised control over the actions of Gemini
employees as if he were their manager or employer and thus should be required
Decision And Order 26 X v. Pitts 06-CV-195
to be held liable for the actions of his employees. C. Wisconsin's Long-Arm Statute
Palmetto,
Pitts, Ms. Cecil, Mr. Cecil and Mr. Pitts are all
1. Requirements for Specific Jurisdiction
The
In any action claiming injury to person or property within this state
arising out of an act or omission outside this state by the defendant, provided
in addition that at the time of the injury, either:
(a) Solicitation or service
activities were carried on within this
state by or on
behalf of the defendant; or
(b) Products, materials or things
processed, serviced or
manufactured by the
defendant were used or consumed within
this state in
the ordinary course of trade.
§ 801.05(4) (2005-06). Section 4(a)
requires that the party doing the soliciting is an agent of the defendant and
that the defendant receives either direct or indirect financial benefit from
the solicitation. [See Pavlic v. Woodrum, 169 Wis.2d 585, 592 (Wis. Ct. App. 1992)
(finding lack of jurisdiction over defendant whose only contacts with the state
were the mailing of stock certificates after an investment had been made and
the mailing of a corporate dissolution letter, neither of which was made in
anticipation of financial benefit)].
Section 4(b) requires that, in addition to the defendant's
contact with the state Decision And Order 27
X v. Pitts 06-CV-195
which gives rise to the lawsuit, the
defendant have at least one other contact with the state and this additional
contact can be satisfied by the presence of additional products in the state or
by the solicitation activities described in sec. 4(a). See Fields v.
Playboy Club of Lake Geneva, 75 Wis.2d 644, 651 (Wis. 1977) (stating
that either the purchase of 41 vehicles by Wisconsin residents in the 18 months
preceding the accident in question or the placing of ads containing 800-numbers
in national publications which are circulated in Wisconsin would have been
independently sufficient to furnish the additional contact needed to confer
jurisdiction; reversing on other grounds). See also Stevens v. White
Motor Corp., 77 Wis.2d 64, 71 (Wis. 1977) (discussing the requirement
that more than one product be used in the state at the time of the injury); Hasley v. Black, Sivalls
& Bryson, Inc., 70 Wis.2d 562, 580 (Wis. 1975) (discussing the
multiple product requirement and stating that it can be satisfied by two of the
product)].
Further, the
long-arm statute is to be given a liberal construction in favor of exercising
personal jurisdiction. [See Stevens, 22 Wis.2d at 74 ("statutes
regulating longarm jurisdiction are to be given a
liberal construction in favor of the exercise of jurisdiction")].
2. Specific Jurisdiction Through
Piercing the Corporate Veil
As discussed
above, the Court believes it proper to pierce the corporate veils of Gemini and
Pitts and treat them as alter egos of Palmetto. Due to the findings of this
Court that Gemini is not challenging personal jurisdiction and that Gemini,
Pitts and Palmetto are treated as the same entity, then personal jurisdiction
can be exercised over Pitts and Palmetto, as well. Further, in addition to the
contact at issue, Pitts and Palmetto have other contacts with the State of
Decision And Order 28 X v. Pitts 06-CV-195
Pitts' sales agents solicited subscription sales from approximately seventy
Palmetto
regularly processed subscriptions from
The Court
finds it proper to pierce the corporate veils of Gemini and Palmetto and treat
them as the alter egos of their shareholders, Ms. Cecil and Mr. Pitts,
respectively. This determination allows the Court to exercise personal
jurisdiction over Ms. Cecil9 and Mr. Pitts because the actions of
their corporations can be treated as their actions, which have been shown to be
sufficient to exercise personal jurisdiction.
The Court finds that Gemini
and Pitts are alter egos of Palmetto and that Gemini and Pitts as alter egos of
each other. Mr. Cecil exercised substantial control over the employees of both
companies. [Pl. Ex. 12, Dep. Digest-Brandon Green (PJ-000192118000219)
(discussing Mr. Cecil throughout, including that Mr. Cecil ran morning
9 Ms. Cecil
challenges personal jurisdiction while Gemini does not. To the extent
that it is necessary to demonstrate that Gemini had additional contacts with
the state of
Decision And Order 29 X v. Pitts 06-CV-195
meetings,
gave cash rewards to the highest sellers each day, disciplined Gemini
employees for drug use and disorderly behavior, and expressed his view that he
only disapproved of drug use while employees were working, among other
things)]. Since these companies behaved as one, and as alter egos, the actions
of one are sufficient to confer jurisdiction over the other.
3. Specific Jurisdiction From
Solicitation on Behalf of Defendants
As also
discussed above, the Court believes Green was an employee of Gemini and Pitts.
Gemini and Pitts acted as one entity and both Mr. and Ms. Cecil exercised
control over Green's work and even free time. As such, Green's solicitation
activities should be viewed as being done on behalf of Gemini, Pitts, Ms. Cecil
and Mr. Cecil under the doctrine of respondeat
superior. Because Green was an agent of Gemini, Pitts, Ms. Cecil and Mr.
Cecil, and all received a direct financial benefit from his solicitation
activities, his solicitations in
Since Gemini
and Pitts can be viewed as employees of Palmetto, then Green was therefore, in
essence, an agent of Palmetto. The Palmetto name was on the forms that were
used to sell subscriptions and Palmetto received a direct benefit, a processing
fee, from each subscription sold. [Pl. Ex. 13, Dep. Digest-Vincent Pitts
(PJ-000244) (stating that Palmetto makes its money by processing orders form
sales companies and that if it does not process orders, it does not make
money)]. Because Palmetto, and its alter ego Mr. Pitts, received a direct
benefit from Green's solicitation activities in
Decision And Order 30 X v. Pitts 06-CV-195
D. Constitutional
Due Process
1. Due Process Requirements
An exercise
of personal jurisdiction that complies with the
Satisfaction
of the
When a defendant
challenges the presumption of constitutionality, the court will apply a
five-part analysis to evaluate whether the exercise of personal jurisdiction
would violate due process. [See Hasley,
70 Wis.2d at 585-588 (applying five-factor test for due process); Advance
Mktg. Consultants, Inc., 66 Wis.2d at 718-719 (applying five-factor test
for due process)]. The five factors are: (1) the quantity of contacts,
(2) the nature and quality.of contacts, (3) the
source of the cause of action, (4) the interest of
Decision And Order 31 X v. Pitts 06-CV-195
the action, and (5) convenience.
2. Quantity of Contacts
All defendants in this matter have sufficient contacts with the State of
This Court finds that at the time when X was assaulted, each of the
defendants had, in the recent past, made substantial contacts with the State of
3. Nature and Quality of Contacts
Gemini's and Pitts' sales agents
went into residents' homes in an attempt to solicit
10 For the
duration of the due process analysis, it is assumed that Ms. Cecil is the alter
ego of Gemini and that Gemini's actions and interests are identical to those of
Ms. Cecil. Gemini does not challenge jurisdiction and is discussed only to the
extent that it is necessary for the purpose of establishing personal
jurisdiction over Ms. Cecil. It is also assumed that Mr. Pitts is the alter ego
of Palmetto and that Palmetto's actions and interests are identical to those of
Mr. Pitts. It is assumed that Mr. Cecil, in his role as general manager of
Pitts, is responsible for the actions of its employees and its actions and
interests can be applied to him through the doctrine of respondeat superior.
Decision And Order 32 X v. Pitts 06-CV-195
magazine
subscription sales. These are very personal contacts with residents of the
State of
The
purposeful availment of the privileges and protections
of doing business in the State of
4. Source of Cause of Action
This cause
of action arose out of Green's initial contact with X while attempting to
solicit a magazine subscription sale. Gemini,.Pitts and Palmetto all rely on this particular type
of contact for all of their revenue. None of these companies will make any
money if sales agents do not solicit subscription sales door-to-door. Thus, the
very source of income for all three companies, door-to-door sales contacts, led
to Green's encounter with X. The source of the cause of action is sufficiently
connected to all defendants such that the exercise of personal jurisdiction
would not offend due process.
5. Interest of
Decision And Order 33 X v. Pitts 06-CV-195
of a violent sexual assault, was a
Further,
public policy considerations strongly support the exercise of personal
jurisdiction over the defendants in this matter. Gemini and Pitts are
Palmetto conducts all of its business within the state of
1 Some of whom
are habitual drug users or have been convicted of violent crimes or larceny
Decision And Order 34 X v. Pitts 06-CV-195
limit its
liabilities in
6. Convenience
Gemini and Pitts are magazine sales subscription corporations that travel
the country soliciting subscription sales. They were operating within the State
of
V. Conclusions
Of Law And Order
Based on the
arguments of counsel, depositions, affidavits, and all of the files, records
and proceedings herein, this Court makes the following conclusions:
A. In
response to the first question presented and for the purpose of determining
personal jurisdiction, this Court finds that the corporate veils of Gemini
Subscriptions, Inc. and Palmetto Marketing, Inc., are pierced. Further, Tina
Cecil and Vincent Pitts are liable for their respective corporations for using
the funds of their corporations for their own personal uses; showing disregard
for corporate formalities such that the corporations can be considered their
alter-egos.
B. In
response to the second question presented and for the purposes of determining
personal jurisdiction, this Court finds that Gemini Subscriptions, Inc., and
Pitts Sales, Inc., exercised sufficient control over Brandon Green's actions to
hold them liable for his conduct using the doctrine of respondeat superior. Further, this Court finds that Palmetto
Marketing, Inc., exercised sufficient control over the
actions of both Gemini
Decision And Order 35 X v. Pitts 06-CV-195
Subscriptions,
Inc., and Pitts Sales, Inc., to hold it liable for their actions using the
doctrine of respondeat superior.
C. In
response to the third question presented and for the purposes of determining
personal jurisdiction, this Court finds that Wisconsin courts have personal
jurisdiction over the defendants Pitts Sales, Inc., Palmetto Marketing, Inc.,
Tina Cecil, Robert Cecil and Vincent Pitts specifically due to their relation
to the action which is the subject of this lawsuit and generally due to the
nature and number of their contacts with the State of Wisconsin.
D. For the reason stated above, this Court finds: (1)
Gemini Subscriptions, Inc., to be the alter ego of Ms. Cecil; and (2) Palmetto
Marketing, Inc., to be the alter ego of Mr. Pitts.
E. For the reasons stated above, this Court finds that:
(1) Gemini Subscriptions, Inc., and Pitts Sales, Inc., are the alter egos of
Palmetto Marketing, Inc.; (2) Gemini Subscriptions, Inc., and Pitts Sales,
Inc., function as one corporate entity and that Mr. Cecil and Mrs. Cecil were
employers of Green; and (3) for all practical purposes Gemini Subscriptions,
Inc., and Pitts Sales, Inc., are employees of Palmetto Marketing, Inc. Because
of these relationships, exercising personal jurisdiction over Pitts Sales,
Inc., Palmetto Marketing, Inc., Ms. Cecil, Mr. Cecil and Mr. Pitts is
justified. Each of the parties is responsible for the actions of Green and each
has sufficient additional contacts with
F. To wit, such exercise of personal jurisdiction over
the defendants will not violate the due process requirements of the Fourteenth
Amendment to the United States Constitution.
G. The arguments raised by defendants (subsequent to the
Court's briefing order and oral arguments) regarding the applicability of
H. The
defendants' motion to dismiss this action on the basis of lack of personal
jurisdiction is denied for the reasons stated herein.
ORDERED this 24th
day of September, 2007.
BY THE COURT
Hon. Wm. C. Stewart, Jr. Circuit Court Judge,
Decision And Order 36 X v. Pitts 06-CV-195
Distribution: Attorney James A. Olson,
Plaintiff
Mary X.
Attorney General Peggy A.
Lautenschlager, State of
Victim
Compensation Program-Department Of Justice. Mr.
Brandon Green, Defendant. Mr. Peter Farrow, Group Health Cooperative of
County.
Attorney Sally J. Ferguson, Arthur Chapman, LLP, Attorney(s) for Defendants
Vincent Pitts, Robert Cecil, and Pitts, Inc.
Attorney
Cynthia J. Becker, Doerner, Saunder, Daniel & Anderson, LLP, Attorney(s)
for Defendants Vincent Pitts, Tina Cecil, Robert Cecil, Palmetto Marketing
Inc./Sunshine Subscription Agency, Inc., Pitts Sales, Inc., and Gemini
Marketing, Inc.
Attorney
David J. Turek, Esq., Gass, Webber & Mullins,
LLC, Counsel for
Decision And Order 37 X v. Pitts 06-CV-195