Touradji v. Beach Capital Partnership, L.P.

Appellant is not subject to general jurisdiction in Texas but he is subject to specific jurisdiction for some of the claims against him. More specifically, appellant established minimum contacts with Texas and the claims for interference with contract, fraud and breach of fiduciary duty sufficiently relate to those contacts to subject appellant to personal jurisdiction in Texas. Plaintiffs failed to plead sufficient jurisdictional allegations concerning the claims for slander and libel and for intentional infliction of emotional distress to subject appellant to personal jurisdiction in Texas. Houston?s 1st Court of Appeals, No. 01-09-00403-CV, 04-08-2010

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OPINION

In this interlocutory appeal, appellant, Paul Touradji, appeals the trial court’s order denying his special appearance.*fn1 Appellees, Beach Capital Partnership, L.P., Playa Oil & Gas GP, LLC, Playa Oil & Gas, LP, and Gary M. Beach (collectively, “plaintiffs”) sued Touradji, a New York resident, and Touradji’s business DeepRock Venture Partners, LP, alleging claims for interference with contract and economic relations, fraud, breach of fiduciary duty, slander and libel, and intentional infliction of emotional distress. Touradji filed a special appearance that the trial court denied. In two issues, Touradji contends the trial court erred by denying his special appearance because he is not subject to either specific or general jurisdiction in Texas. We conclude that Touradji is not subject to general jurisdiction in Texas but that he is subject to specific jurisdiction for some of the claims against him. More specifically, Touradji established minimum contacts with Texas and the claims for interference with contract, fraud, and breach of fiduciary duty sufficiently relate to those contacts to subject Touradji to personal jurisdiction in Texas. We also conclude plaintiffs failed to plead sufficient jurisdictional allegations concerning the claims for slander and libel and for intentional infliction of emotional distress to subject Touradji to personal jurisdiction in Texas. We affirm in part, reverse in part and remand this case to the trial court.

Background

Touradji v. Beach Capital Partnership, L.P.

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