MOUNT VERNON – Plaintiffs from Georgia can sue Cottrell Inc. of Georgia in St. Clair County over an incident that happened in Illinois 230 miles from Belleville, Fifth District appellate judges ruled on March 14.
They affirmed Circuit Judge Christopher Kolker, who denied a motion to dismiss the suit for lack of jurisdiction.
Jimmy Hill and Barbara Hill of Georgia filed the suit in 2020 against Cottrell, which manufactures trailers for hauling vehicles.
They claimed Jimmy Hill hauled cars for Jack Cooper Transport.
They claimed he drove to Wisconsin in 2018 to pick up utility vehicles for delivery to John Deer dealers in Illinois and other states.
He allegedly loaded the vehicles on a Cottrell rig and drove to a dealer in Somonauk, about 50 miles west of Chicago.
The Hills claimed that as Jimmy began to unload three vehicles, a ratchet failed to release.
They claimed he tried to free it with a ratchet bar, and the ratchet suddenly released.
They claimed the bar sprang back and struck his left hand and arm, causing serious injuries.
The Hills also alleged negligence against Cambarloc Engineering, a Missouri business that performed maintenance and repair services for Jack Cooper Transport.
Cottrell moved to dismiss the complaint for lack of personal jurisdiction, arguing it had no office or employee in Illinois.
It also claimed it wasn’t subject to specific jurisdiction, because the claims didn’t arise from its activities in Illinois.
The Hills asserted specific jurisdiction under the Illinois long arm statute, claiming Cottrell held itself out as the world’s largest manufacturer of automobile transport equipment.
They claimed Cottrell sold 2,123 rigs in Illinois and secured more than $230 million in sales.
They claimed Cottrell sold products to Cassens Transport of Edwardsville and earned about $165,000 by refurbishing Cassens trailers.
They claimed Cottrell’s distributor, Worldwide Equipment, was based in Illinois.
Kolker denied Cottrell’s motion, finding it was subject to specific jurisdiction in Illinois.
He found Cottrell purposely directed its activities in Illinois and Hill alleged he was injured while using a Cottrell product.
On appeal, Fifth District judges found the Hills demonstrated a sufficient connection between Cottrell’s activities in Illinois and the litigation to satisfy due process concerns.
They found a state court may exercise jurisdiction over a defendant in another state if it has minimum contacts with the forum such that a suit doesn’t offend notions of fair play and justice.
Justice Judy Cates wrote, “The determination of what constitutes sufficient minimum contacts depends on the facts of each case.”
“Cottrell regularly marketed and sold car hauling rigs and replacement parts to business entities in Illinois," she wrote.
“On this record we find that the plaintiffs adequately demonstrated that Cottrell purposefully directed its marketing and sales activities in Illinois and that it derived benefits from those activities in Illinois,” she added.
“Illinois has a solid interest in adjudicating this controversy,” Cates continued.
“Further, Cottrell has not demonstrated that it would be burdened by defending this lawsuit in Illinois,” she wrote.
“To allow Cottrell to insulate itself from accountability in Illinois would undermine principles of fundamental fairness,” she concluded.
Justices Thomas Welch and John Barberis concurred.
Brian Wendler of Edwardsville represents Jimmy and Barbara Hill.
Amy Moser and Daniel Carpenter of Des Peres, Missouri, represent Cottrell.