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Kelly v. General Interior Construction, Inc.

To establish personal jurisdiction in Texas courts over nonresident defendants, plaintiffs must plead a connection between the defendants' alleged wrongdoing and the forum state. Because the plaintiff?s pleadings lack Texas-specific allegations, the defendants negated all jurisdictional bases by proving that they do not live in Texas, and the plaintiff has not presented any evidence to the contrary. Texas Supreme Court, No. 08-0669, 01-15-2010

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Argued November 18, 2009

To establish personal jurisdiction in Texas courts over nonresident defendants, plaintiffs must plead a connection between the defendants’ alleged wrongdoing and the forum state. Asserting statutory and common law claims, General Interior Construction, Inc. (GIC), a Texas corporation, sued Daniel Kelly and Laura Hofstatter (collectively, the Officers), both Arizona residents. Absent from GIC’s pleadings, however, is any allegation that Kelly and Hofstatter committed any acts giving rise to these claims in Texas. Because the Officers filed a special appearance proving that they do not live in Texas, they successfully negated all alleged bases for personal jurisdiction in Texas courts. We accordingly reverse in part the court of appeals and render judgment dismissing GIC’s claims against the Officers for lack of personal jurisdiction.

I. Background

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