Gee v. Reingold

Outcome: Judgment for Defendant

Description: A corporation filed a complaint in the Superior Court of Dade County, Georgia, to domesticate a Wisconsin judgment against plaintiff cable supplier. The supplier filed a third-party complaint against defendant attorney for breach of contract, negligence, and breach of fiduciary duty, for allowing a default judgment to be entered against him. The attorney's motion to dismiss for want of personal jurisdiction was granted. The supplier appealed. The supplier claimed that the trial court erred in ruling that it lacked personal jurisdiction to hear and decide his breach of contract claim against the attorney. The appellate court held that the trial court correctly concluded that it did not have personal jurisdiction over the attorney on the basis of his having transacted business in Georgia. The only Georgia-based contacts between the supplier and the attorney with respect to the Wisconsin lawsuit were telephone conversations and facsimile transmissions between the supplier in Georgia and the attorney in Tennessee, which were initiated by the supplier. Further, the tortious act at issue did not occur in Georgia for purposes of O.C.G.A. § 9-10-91. The lawsuit which the supplier claimed the attorney handled negligently was filed in Wisconsin and the default judgment was entered there. Finally, the attorney did not maintain an office in Georgia, advertise in Georgia, derive a substantial income from services rendered in Georgia, or engage in a persistent course of conduct within Georgia. Accordingly, the attorney had done none of the acts which had to be done to subject him to the personal jurisdiction of a Georgia court.