San Joaquin College of Law

Civil Procedure – Interim Exam Feb 2007 / Cartier

TIME: 1 hour 20 minutes.

Purchaser bought a Pure Aire ionizing filtration system for her home from the local Depot Store in Alabama. The Pure Aire was manufactured by D&D, in China, and was imported into the United States by Depot Stores (“Depot”), a Delaware corporation with its principal place of business in Illinois. Depot operates retail stores in all fifty states. Purchaser alleges the Pure Aire fails to perform as warranted in that it fails to remove dust, pollen, and other impurities from the air and, in fact, exposes consumers to hazardous levels of ozone. The complaint, which alleges negligence, breach of warranty, and misrepresentation, seeks actual and punitive damages and injunctive relief, including a refund of the purchase price. Upon being properly served, Depot removed the action to the United States District Court for the Southern District of Alabama. Depot then filed a third-party claim against D&D, seeking indemnification. D&D filed a motion to dismiss the third-party claim for want of personal jurisdiction. Discovery on the jurisdictional issue revealed that, while 15,000 Pure Aire systems were sold by Depot during the preceding five years in the United States, including 750 systems in Alabama., Depot bought the Pure Aire systems in China and arranged for transport to the United States. D&D conducts no business operations in the United States. Based on this information, the court granted D&D’s motion to dismiss for want of personal jurisdiction. Purchaser now seeks class certification on behalf of all those in the United States who purchased Pure Aire systems manufactured by D&D from Depot during the past five years. Depot opposes class certification and moves to dismiss Purchaser’s suit for failure to join D&D as a “necessary and indispensable party.”

1. Was this case properly removed? DISCUSS.

2. Did the court rule correctly on D&D’s motion to dismiss for want of personal jurisdiction? DISCUSS.

3. How should the court rule on the motion to certify a class action? DISCUSS.

4. How should the court rule on Depot’s motion to dismiss? DISCUSS.