Arro Consulting, Inc. v. Bennett, Brewer & Assoc.

J-S22023-17
NON-PRECEDENTIAL DECISION - SEE SUPERIOR COURT I.O.P. 65.37
ARRO CONSULTING, INC. IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF
PENNSYLVANIA
Appellant
v.
BENNETT, BREWER & ASSOCIATES, LLC,
SUCCESSOR-IN-INTEREST TO
COUGHENOUR SURVEYING
No. 1673 MDA 2016
Appeal from the Order Entered September 12, 2016
In the Court of Common Pleas of Lancaster County
Civil Division at No(s): 13-09159
BEFORE: SHOGAN, J., MOULTON, J., and PLATT, J.*
MEMORANDUM BY MOULTON, J.: FILED SEPTEMBER 05, 2017
ARRO Consulting, Inc. (“ARRO”) appeals from the September 12, 2016
order entered in the Lancaster County Court of Common Pleas sustaining the
preliminary objection filed by Bennett, Brewer & Associates, LLC (“BBA”) to
ARRO’s complaint based on lack of personal jurisdiction. We reverse and
remand.
ARRO is a Pennsylvania-based civil engineering and environmental
consulting firm, which also has an office in Maryland. BBA is a Maryland-
based land development firm with two offices in Maryland. On July 7, 2008,
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*
Retired Senior Judge assigned to the Superior Court.
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BBA retained ARRO to perform engineering services for a land development
project in Maryland.
On March 17, 2009, the parties entered into a professional services
agreement (“Agreement”) under which ARRO agreed to perform professional
engineering services for BBA on the Maryland project. The Agreement
contains the following provision:
GOVERNING LAW. The laws of the Commonwealth of
Pennsylvania shall govern the validity of this Agreement,
its interpretation and performance. Any litigation
arising in any way from this Agreement shall be
brought in the Courts of Common Pleas of
Pennsylvania having jurisdiction.
Agmt., Std. Terms & Conds., at 3, ¶ 20 (emphasis added).1
On September 20, 2013, ARRO filed a breach of contract action
against BBA in the Lancaster County Court of Common Pleas. On October
23, 2013, BBA filed a preliminary objection to the complaint, asserting that
the trial court lacked personal jurisdiction over BBA. On November 13,
2013, ARRO filed a response. BBA filed a reply on November 19, 2013.
On September 9, 2016,2 the trial court sustained BBA’s preliminary
objection and dismissed ARRO’s complaint. The trial court determined that
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1
The Agreement provides that “the attached standard terms and
conditions are incorporated into and a part of this Agreement.” Agmt. at 4
(full capitalization omitted).
2
“Although a praecipe for disposition was filed on November 19, 2013,
. . . the Office of the Prothonotary failed to assign the case or forward the
(Footnote Continued Next Page)
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the phrase “having jurisdiction” in the forum selection clause means that a
party to the Agreement may file suit only in a Pennsylvania court of common
pleas having personal jurisdiction over the parties. As a result, the trial
court engaged in a minimum-contacts analysis and concluded that it lacked
personal jurisdiction over BBA:
Not only does [BBA] lack sufficient contacts for a finding
of specific personal jurisdiction, neither does [BBA] have
such continuous and systematic contacts with Pennsylvania
that would support a finding of general personal
jurisdiction. [BBA] is a Maryland company with a Maryland
address. It has never had a place of business in
Pennsylvania, owned property in Pennsylvania, or had
Pennsylvania employees or subcontractors. Other than
maintaining a passive website, [BBA] does not solicit
business from Pennsylvania. In fact, [BBA] has performed
only one project in Pennsylvania, and this occurred after
the events at issue in this case and under a contract with a
non-Pennsylvania entity. Simply put, [BBA] does not have
the minimum contacts necessary for the court to exercise
personal jurisdiction.
Trial Ct. Order, 9/12/16, at 4.
In its Pennsylvania Rule of Appellate Procedure 1925(a) opinion, the
trial court further explained its ruling:
In ruling on [BBA’s] preliminary objections, the court found
no ambiguity in the words of the Agreement. In order to
give effect to the words “having jurisdiction,” the court
determined that they limited the reach of the provision.
The provision is not a blanket consent to Pennsylvania’s
jurisdiction. Such an interpretation would fail to give effect
to the words “having jurisdiction.” Instead, the provision
is the consent of the parties that if Pennsylvania courts
_______________________
(Footnote Continued)
file [to the trial judge] until August 11, 2016.” Trial Ct. Order, 9/12/16, at 2
n.1.
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have jurisdiction, then any litigation arising from the
[A]greement must be brought in Pennsylvania.
Trial Ct. Order, 11/7/16, at 3.
On appeal, ARRO raises the following issue: “Did the trial court err in
dismissing the complaint by failing to give effect to the forum selection
clause set forth in the written agreement between the parties?” ARRO’s Br.
at 4.
Our standard of review is as follows:
In determining whether the trial court properly sustained
preliminary objections, the appellate court must examine
the averments in the complaint, together with the
documents and exhibits attached thereto, in order to
evaluate the sufficiency of the facts averred. When
sustaining the trial court’s ruling will result in the denial of
claim or a dismissal of suit, preliminary objections will be
sustained only where the case is free and clear of doubt,
and this Court will reverse the trial court’s decision
regarding preliminary objections only where there has
been an error of law or an abuse of discretion.
Haas v. Four Seasons Campground, Inc., 952 A.2d 688, 691 (Pa.Super.
2008) (quoting Rambo v. Greene, 906 A.2d 1232, 1235 (Pa.Super. 2006)).
Moreover, “the burden of proof initially rests upon the party contesting
personal jurisdiction; once that party has provided proof, the burden then
shifts to the non-moving party to adduce evidence demonstrating there is a
basis for asserting jurisdiction over the moving party.” Id.
ARRO asserts that the “Governing Law” provision in the Agreement
contains a binding forum selection clause by which BBA consented to the
exercise of personal jurisdiction by Pennsylvania courts. Thus, ARRO
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contends that the trial court erred in conducting a minimum-contacts
analysis and dismissing the complaint for lack of personal jurisdiction. We
agree.
It is well settled that the “parties to a contract may agree in advance
to submit to the jurisdiction of a given court.” Cont’l Bank v. Brodsky,
311 A.2d 676, 677-78 (Pa.Super. 1973). This Court has stated:
Personal jurisdiction can be established by consent of
the parties; when such consent is established, the famous
“minimum contacts” framework developed by the United
States Supreme Court in International Shoe Co. v.
Washington, 326 U.S. 310, 66 S. Ct. 154, 90 L. Ed. 95
(1945), is inapplicable. See e.g., Ins. Corp. of Ireland
v. Compagnie des Bauxites de Guinee, 456 U.S. 694,
703, 102 S. Ct. 2099, 72 L. Ed. 2d 492 (1982) (“Because the
requirement of personal jurisdiction represents first of all
an individual right, it can, like other such rights, be
waived.”) . . . .
Frontier Leasing Corp. v. Shah, 931 A.2d 676, 680 (Pa.Super. 2007); see
also Provident Mut. Life Ins. Co. v. Bickerstaff, 818 F. Supp. 116, 118
(E.D.Pa. 1993) (stating that although usually “the plaintiff must show that
the defendant has sufficient minimum contacts with the forum state” to
establish personal jurisdiction, “in actions involving forum selection
clauses[,] analysis of the contacts with the forum state is inappropriate”).
“Instead, the court must consider the validity and effect of the forum
selection clause to determine if” the defendant consented to personal
jurisdiction in the chosen forum. Provident, 818 F. Supp. at 118.
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Our court has stated that “the modern trend is to uphold the
enforceability of forum selection clauses where those clauses are clear and
unambiguous.” Patriot Comm. Leasing Co. v. Kremer Rest. Enters.,
LLC, 915 A.2d 647, 650 (Pa.Super. 2006). A forum selection clause is
subject to principles of contract interpretation and is generally enforceable
“when the parties have freely agreed that litigation shall be conducted in
another forum and where such agreement is not unreasonable at the time of
litigation.” Autochoice Unlimited, Inc. v. Avangard Auto Fin., Inc., 9
A.3d 1207, 1215 (Pa.Super. 2010) (quoting Cent. Contracting Co. v. C.E.
Youngdahl & Co., 209 A.2d 810, 816 (Pa. 1965)). Furthermore:
[A] forum selection clause in a commercial contract
between business entities is presumptively valid and will
be deemed unenforceable only when: 1) the clause itself
was induced by fraud or overreaching; 2) the forum
selected in the clause is so unfair or inconvenient that a
party, for all practical purposes, will be deprived of an
opportunity to be heard; or 3) the clause is found to
violate public policy.
Midwest Fin. Acceptance Corp. v. Lopez, 78 A.3d 614, 629 (Pa.Super.
2013) (quoting Autochoice, 9 A.3d at 1215).
Here, ARRO and BBA included a forum selection clause within the
“Governing Law” provision of their Agreement, which states: “Any litigation
arising in any way from this Agreement shall be brought in the Courts of
Common Pleas of Pennsylvania having jurisdiction.” Agmt., Std. Terms &
Conds., at 3, ¶ 20. Thus, our first task it to consider the validity and effect
of the forum selection clause. See Provident, 818 F. Supp. at 118.
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In determining the parties’ intent, we must construe “all provisions in
the agreement” together so that “each will be given effect.” LJL Transp.,
Inc. v. Pilot Air Freight Corp., 962 A.2d 639, 647-48 (Pa. 2009). “Thus,
we will not interpret one provision of a contract in a manner which results in
another portion being annulled.” Id. at 648.
We conclude that the mandatory language “shall be brought”
evidences the parties’ intent to choose Pennsylvania, as opposed to
Maryland, as the forum for resolving legal disputes. Despite this
unambiguous language, the trial court found that BBA did not consent to
personal jurisdiction in Pennsylvania. This interpretation, however, renders
the remainder of the forum selection clause meaningless. By interpreting
the phrase “having jurisdiction” as meaning “having personal jurisdiction,”
the trial court failed to give effect to the words immediately preceding
“having jurisdiction” – “shall be brought in the Courts of Common Pleas of
Pennsylvania.”
The only interpretation that gives effect to all words in the forum
selection clause is that “having jurisdiction” means having subject matter
jurisdiction over the dispute. Because the courts of common pleas have
subject matter jurisdiction over breach of contract claims, see 42 Pa.C.S.
§ 931(a), the trial court is a “Court[] of Common Pleas of Pennsylvania
having jurisdiction” over the parties’ dispute. Therefore, we conclude that,
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by signing the Agreement containing the forum selection clause, BBA
consented to personal jurisdiction in the trial court.3
We also reject BBA’s contention that the forum selection clause is
unenforceable because it would be unreasonable for BBA to litigate this
matter in Pennsylvania. Not only do Maryland and Pennsylvania border one
another, but BBA intentionally retained ARRO for its project knowing that
ARRO was a Pennsylvania company. BBA claims that it would be “unduly
burdensome” to defend itself in Pennsylvania because the project at issue is
located in Maryland and ARRO would not be prejudiced by litigating the case
in Maryland. BBA’s Br. at 24. That, however, is not the standard. BBA has
not alleged, let alone proven, that the forum selection clause was induced by
fraud, that Pennsylvania is so inconvenient that BBA will be deprived of an
opportunity to be heard, or that the clause violates public policy. See
Midwest, 78 A.3d at 629. Nor has BBA alleged any change in
circumstances between the time it signed the Agreement and the time of
this litigation. Therefore, BBA failed to meet its burden of proving that
litigating this action in Pennsylvania would be unreasonable.
Accordingly, because the Agreement contains a valid and enforceable
forum selection clause, and the trial court has subject matter jurisdiction
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3
To conclude otherwise would mean that BBA consented to jurisdiction
in Pennsylvania, but only if ARRO could establish personal jurisdiction over
BBA in Pennsylvania. As explained above, such an interpretation would
render the forum selection clause largely meaningless.
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over this matter, we conclude that the trial court erred in sustaining BBA’s
preliminary objection.
Order reversed. Case remanded for further proceedings. Jurisdiction
relinquished.
Judgment Entered.
Joseph D. Seletyn, Esq.
Prothonotary
Date: 9/5/2017
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