Unreported / Non-Citable
Background
A golf cart tipped over at Sonterra Country Club in San Antonio while a dealer’s employee was test-driving it in response to reported tipping problems. Robert Rowton was killed, and John Montague was severely injured.
Montague and Rowton’s surviving family sued the country club, dealer, driver, distributor, and Guangdong Lvtong New Energy Electric Vehicle Technology Co. Ltd., the Chinese manufacturer. Lvtong challenged personal jurisdiction through a special appearance, which the trial court denied after jurisdictional discovery.
The Court’s Holding
The Fourth Court of Appeals held that Lvtong did not waive its special appearance. Its other motions were expressly made subject to that jurisdictional challenge, and Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 120a permitted Lvtong to amend its supporting affidavit to correct a notarial error.
The court further held that the evidence was legally insufficient to establish specific jurisdiction. Lvtong manufactured semifinished carts in China and shipped them at the direction of independent distributors that controlled their destinations and marketing. The volume shipped to Texas did not show that Lvtong created, controlled, or employed the distribution system or otherwise targeted the Texas market.
Although Lvtong’s international-sales director visited Texas once or twice in both 2023 and 2024 to maintain or improve client relationships, the record did not connect those visits to the cart’s alleged design defects, warnings, or the accident. The court therefore reversed the order denying Lvtong’s special appearance and rendered judgment dismissing the claims against it for lack of personal jurisdiction.
Key Takeaways
- A foreign manufacturer does not purposefully avail itself of Texas merely because an independent distributor directs substantial quantities of its products into the state.
- Specific jurisdiction requires evidence that the defendant targeted Texas, such as by controlling the distribution system or engaging in other conduct intended to serve the Texas market.
- Business visits to Texas cannot support specific jurisdiction when the operative facts of the lawsuit do not arise from or relate to those visits.
Why It Matters
The decision applies the Texas Supreme Court’s stream-of-commerce-plus framework to a foreign manufacturer whose products reached Texas through independent distributors. Product volume and foreseeability were insufficient without evidence of Texas-directed conduct attributable to the manufacturer itself.
The opinion also confirms that defendants may preserve and amend a special appearance when later filings remain expressly subject to the jurisdictional challenge, including to cure defects in a supporting affidavit.