Ramsey v. Greenbush Logistics, Inc.

263 F.Supp.3d 672

Billy Paul RAMSEY, Plaintiff,

v.GREENBUSH LOGISTICS, INC., Defendant.

NO. 1:16–cv–00079

United States District Court, M.D. Tennessee, Columbia Division.

Filed July 11, 2017

R. Patrick Parker, Parker & Associates, Gallatin, TN, for Plaintiff.

Casey M. Parker, Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart, P.C., Nashville, TN, for Defendant.

WAVERLY D. CRENSHAW, JR. CHIEF UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

MEMORANDUM OPINION

Pending before the Court is Greenbush Logistics, Inc.'s ("Greenbush") Motion to Dismiss, or in the Alternative, to Transfer Amended Complaint (Doc. No. 23), to which Billy Paul Ramsey has responded in opposition (Doc. No. 27) and Greenbush has replied (Doc. No. 40). For the reasons that follow, the Motion will be granted insofar as Greenbush requests a transfer of this action.

I. Factual Background

The Amended Complaint alleges the following relevant facts:

Ramsey is a resident of Leoma, Tennessee, and works for Greenbush, which is a "Domestic Corporation" with its principal place of business located at 445 Singletary Road in Abbeville, Alabama. (Doc. No. 21, Am. Cmpl. ¶¶ 1, 2, 9). Greenbush does business in Tennessee by delivering treated lumber to multiple businesses in this state on a weekly basis. (Id. ¶ 2). Its Tennessee customers include: "Parkes Lumber Company in Lawrenceburg; Cross Roads Building Supply in Etheridge, 412 Building Supplies in Hohenwald, Tennessee, Augustin Lumber Company in Loretto; Pulaski Lumber Company in Pulaski; Quality Metals Supply in Pleasantville; Buck Building Supply in Decaturville; Marvin's Building Materials in Lewisburg; Williams Supply in Savannah; Old Time Lumber in Counce; Stewart Building Supply in Dickson; and Home Depot, which has multiple locations throughout" the state. (Id. ¶ 11).

Ramsey suffers from epilepsy and Greenbush is aware of this condition. Several months after he began working as a mechanic for Greenbush on May 14, 2012, Ramsey was placed on the night shift at Greenbush's facility. (Id. ¶¶ 9, 15). Ramsey notified Greenbush that his epilepsy "prevented him from performing adequately with regards to safety, quality, and productivity." (Id. 16). Nevertheless, he was required to continue to work the night shift for the next several months. (Id. ¶ 17).

On December 9, 2013, Ramsey contacted Dewayne Heath in Human Resources about a reasonable accommodation in the form of a shift change. (Id. ¶ 18). That same day, Dr. James H. Bealle of Pulaski, Tennessee, "wrote a letter providing documentation of Plaintiff's disability, noting that sleep deprivation and an irregular sleep pattern results in the worsening of epilepsy symptoms," and suggesting that "working third shift and frequently switching between shifts could result in seizure activity and cognitive dysfunction[.]" (Id. ¶¶ 19, 20).

On August 26 and August 27, 2014, Dr. Norman McNulty, a physician located in Lawrenceburg, Tennessee, "sent Defendant documentation about Plaintiff s history of seizures and a new condition, ‘shift work sleep disorder.’ " (Id. ¶ 21). Dr. McNulty "noted that working the third shift was impairing Plaintiff's ability to function normally, and to operate safely at work during those hours." (Id. ).

Since being employed at Greenbush, Ramsey "has been passed over for a raise on several occasions," and, in fact, has yet to receive a raise. (Id. ¶ 22). He further claims that he (1) "has been expected to perform more tasks than other employees" and (2) "received multiple ‘write-ups’ after his requests for accommodation," while "[o]ther employees without disabilities did not receive write-ups for similar actions." (Id. ¶¶ 23, 24).

Based upon the foregoing, Ramsey filed a two-count Complaint. In the first count, he alleges violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act, 42 U.S.C. §§ 12111 et seq. ; in the second, he alleges violation of the Tennessee Human Rights Act, Tenn. Code Ann. §§ 4–21–101 et seq.

In response to the Complaint and in support of its Motion to Dismiss or Transfer, Greenbush has filed the Declaration of Kevin Savoy, its Vice President. In that Declaration, Savoy states, among other things, that Greenbush maintains no offices, terminals, or physical presence in Tennessee; does not own, rent, lease or store any property in Tennessee; does not have a Tennessee business address (physical P.O. box or otherwise) or telephone number; does not hold any meetings in Tennessee; does not maintain any business records in Tennessee; is not registered to do business in Tennessee; has no agents or employees who work out of Tennessee; has no officers, executives or board members that reside in Tennessee; does not have any bank accounts in the state of Tennessee; has not filed or intervened in a lawsuit in the state of Tennessee; has not specifically assigned any sales agent to target the state of Tennessee; and has not targeted Tennessee with any campaign advertising its services. (Doc. No. 24–1, Savoy Decl. ¶ 5).

II. Legal Analysis

The Motion to Dismiss or Transfer is in three parts. First, Greenbush argues this case should be dismissed for lack of personal jurisdiction and improper venue. Second, it asserts, alternatively, that this action should be transferred under 28 U.S.C. § 1404 to the Northern District of Alabama because that forum is more convenient for the witnesses and the parties. Third and finally, Greenbush contends that, if the Court determines that dismissal is not warranted and that the case should not be transferred, Ramsey's claims should be dismissed for failure to state a claim. Having considered the parties' arguments, the Court finds that personal jurisdiction does not exist and that this case should be transferred "in the interest of justice" under 28 U.S.C. § 1406(a).

A. Personal Jurisdiction

"The Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment constrains a State's authority to bind a nonresident defendant to a judgment of its courts," Walden v. Fiore, ––– U.S. ––––, 134 S.Ct. 1115, 1121, 188 L.Ed.2d 12 (2014), and, thus, in order for this Court to have personal jurisdiction over Greenbush, Ramsey must show¹ that Greenbush has (or had) sufficient minimum contacts with Tennessee such that "the maintenance of the suit does not offend ‘traditional notions of fair play and substantial justice,’ " International Shoe Co. v. Washington, 326 U.S. 310, 316, 66 S.Ct. 154, 90 L.Ed. 95 (1945).² Minimum contacts exist where a defendant purposefully avails itself of the privilege of conducting activities within the forum state. Burger King Corp. v. Rudzewicz, 471 U.S. 462, 475, 105 S.Ct. 2174, 85 L.Ed.2d 528 (1985).

"Personal jurisdiction maybe found either generally or specifically." Miller, 694 F.3d at 678 (quoting Air Prods. & Controls, Inc. v. Safetech Int'1, Inc., 503 F.3d 544, 549–50 (6th Cir. 2007) ). "General jurisdiction depends on continuous and systematic contact with the forum state, so that the courts may exercise jurisdiction over any claims a plaintiff may bring against the defendant." Id. at 678–9 (quoting Kerry Steel, Inc. v. Paragon Indus., Inc., 106 F.3d 147,149 (6th Cir. 1997) ). "Specific jurisdiction, on the other hand, grants jurisdiction only to the extent that a claim arises out of or relates to a defendant's contacts in the forum state." Id. Ramsey has established the existence of neither.

1. General Jurisdiction

Ramsey cites First Community Bank, N.A. v. First Tennessee Bank, N.A., 489 S.W.3d 369, 383 (Tenn. 2015) for the proposition that "[b]ecause Defendant transports its product in Tennessee and delivers its product to its clients who have places of business in Tennessee, then under Tennessee law, Plaintiff's Amended Complaint has established sufficient contacts between Greenbush and Tennessee with reasonable particularity." (Doc. No. 27 at 3). That case, however, does not stand for the proposition cited.

In First Community, the Tennessee Supreme Court was presented with the question of whether three rating agencies—The McGraw–Hill Companies, Inc., Moody's Investors Service, Inc., and Fitch, Inc.—were subject to personal jurisdiction in Tennessee. Specifically with respect to general jurisdiction, plaintiff argued that each rating agency "admittedly d[id] millions of dollars of business per year in Tennessee," had "engaged in ‘longstanding business’ in Tennessee, including maintaining offices and performing ratings services there," and all three "distribute[d] various print materials in Tennessee." Id. at 386. The Tennessee Supreme Court was unpersuaded by these arguments noting, as "an initial matter,...that it is undisputed that Tennessee does not serve as the formal place of incorporation or principal place of business for any of the three Ratings Agencies," and finding "the evidence provided by the Plaintiff is insufficient to support the conclusion that any of the Ratings Agencies' relationships with Tennessee were more substantial than their relationship with any of the other numerous forums in which the Ratings Agencies do business." Id. at 386–87. "While the contacts alleged by the Plaintiff certainly established that the Ratings Agencies engage in business in Tennessee, nothing in the record supports the conclusion that any of the Ratings Agencies' contacts with Tennessee are so substantial or of such a nature as to render them ‘essentially at home’ here." Id. at 387.

The "essentially at home" language comes from Goodyear Dunlop Tires Operations, S.A. v. Brown, 564 U.S. 915, 919, 131 S.Ct. 2846, 180 L.Ed.2d 796 (2011), wherein the Supreme Court held that a court may assert general jurisdiction over corporations "when their affiliations with the State are so ‘continuous and systematic’ as to render them essentially at home in the forum State." Thus, "[f]or an individual, the paradigm forum for the exercise of general jurisdiction is the individual's domicile; for a corporation, it is an equivalent place, one in which the corporation is fairly regarded as at home." Id. at 924, 131 S.Ct. 2846. "With respect to a corporation, the...