Nondomiciliary’s Actions in NY Sufficient to Establish Personal Jurisdiction Pursuant to Long-Arm Statute

The Court of Appeals remains a six-member court after Chief Judge Janet DiFiore’s Aug. 31, 2022, resignation. Gov. Kathy Hochul nominated Presiding Justice of the Appellate Division, Second Department, Hector D. LaSalle as chief judge but, in an unprecedented action, the state Senate rejected the nomination. The Commission on Judicial Nominations has restarted its process and is currently considering applications to fill the chief judge vacancy. Judge Anthony Cannataro continues to serve as acting chief judge until a successor is named by Hochul and confirmed by the state Senate. Until then, the court appears to be taking a measured approach. The court has issued approximately 37 decisions since DiFiore’s resignation and in all but three of those decisions as of the date this column was drafted, the court was unanimous or 5-1 in its voting.

In one of those 5-1 decisions, the Court of Appeals last month reversed a divided Appellate Division, Third Department and held that a nondomiciliary’s actions in New York were sufficient to establish personal jurisdiction pursuant to New York’s long-arm statute. In State of New York v. Vayu, a decision written by Judge Michael J. Garcia and joined by Acting Chief Judge Cannataro and Judges Rowan Wilson, Madeline Singas and Shirley Troutman, the court determined that a Delaware corporation’s calls, emails, and an in-person visit with the plaintiff in New York in order to establish a substantial ongoing business relationship were sufficiently purposeful activities to hold that the Delaware corporation subjected itself to personal jurisdiction in New York.