A Massachusetts resident who accompanied her husband on a business trip to Hong Kong drowned in their hotel's swimming pool. Plaintiffs brought a wrongful death action against the Defendant Corporation, the hotel owner, and a corporation that had no place of business outside of Hong Kong.
Corporation moved for dismissal, debating a Massachusetts court could not exercise personal jurisdiction consistently with due process. The district court denied the motion and entered a default judgment against corporation for $ 3,128,168.
The court found that corporation's solicitation of business set in motion a series of reasonably foreseeable events resulting in the plaintiff's death. While the connection between the solicitation and the death was not an immediate cause, it demonstrated association.
Legal Issues:
Did the hotel have personal jurisdiction?
Was the hotel guilty of negligence?