VENUE IMPROPER WHEN ONLY CONNECTION WITH STATE WAS PERSONAL REPRESENTATIVE.
NELDA GARCIA, AS PERSONAL REPRESENTATIVE OF THE ESTATES OFABOU EL SOUD TAHA MOHAMED HAMMOUDA, MOHAMED REFAT ABDOU WANAS, MOHAMED AHMED ALMEZAYEN, ABDUL MUHAIMIN, HUSSAIN AHMED, AND CHARALAMBOS VOUZEKIS VERSUS BUREAUVERITAS QUALITY INTERNATIONAL (NORTH AMERICA) INC., BUREAU VERITAS, PARIS,FRANCE, NAGOS SHIPPING LTD. OF VALETTA, MALTA, OSTENE SHIPPING SOUTH AFRICA,GOOD FAITH SHIPPING COMPANY SOUTH AFRICA AND SONMEZ DENIZCILIK.
NO. 99-CA-3092
COURT OF APPEAL OF LOUISIANA, FOURTH CIRCUIT
99-3092 (La.App. 4 Cir, 10/04/00); 2000 La. App. LEXIS 2555
October 4, 2000, Decided
OVERVIEW: Plaintiff, as a representative of the deceased, brought an action for claims under both the Jones Act and the general maritime law when a boat sank off the coast of South Africa. The decedents and their survivors were all foreign nationals. The named defendants are all foreign corporations. The only connection that the case had with Louisiana was that the purported personal representative of the decedents' estates happened to reside in Louisiana. The trial court granted defendants an exception of improper venue.
Plaintiff appealed from that exception. Since the case had no connection with Louisiana other than the personal representative, the appellate court declined to stretch the long-arm statute, La. Rev. Stat. Ann. ยง 13:3201, et seq., to find Louisiana was a proper venue for the action. The court also questioned the plaintiff's capacity to bring the action as a personal representative.
OUTCOME: Judgment affirmed; Louisiana was not a proper venue as the only connection the case had with the State was that it was where the personal representative resided.
