Thomas Whitelaw Wins Dismissal of Lawsuit in Connecticut Federal Court

Firm is Victorious for Client, Octopus Products, in Business Interference and Unfair Trade Practices Case

Irvine, CA (PRWEB) May 20, 2009 - Thomas Whitelaw, a premier national litigation firm, announced that in a recent federal court action, Panterra Engineered Plastics, Inc.v. Octopus Products, Ltd., Case No. 3:08-cv-1682 (WWE), the firm obtained a dismissal for its client, Octopus, in a business interference and unfair trade case in Connecticut. The court, in dismissing the action, agreed with Thomas Whitelaw that no jurisdiction could properly be exercised under the circumstances applying Connecticut law.

In the suit, Panterra sued Octopus in a Connecticut federal court for tortious interference of business relations and unfair trade practice under Connecticut law. Panterra alleged that it owned certain rights in a honeycomb core structural material and that Octopus was allegedly manufacturing and distributing an identical product without Panterra's consent. Panterra attempted to establish the court's jurisdiction over Octopus based on Octopus's alleged sales and advertisements of its products in the US, including Connecticut. Panterra further pointed to Octopus's website as further support that Octopus had sufficient interactions with Connecticut residents to confer jurisdiction.

Octopus has no offices in and has never sold a product to anyone in Connecticut

and the judge agreed that maintaining a Website was not a solicitation of business to Connecticut residents. In the absence of any contacts with Connecticut, we immediately moved for dismissal based on the lack of personal jurisdiction and were victorious for our client

without facilitating contractual or business relations with Connecticut residents, the Octopus website does not give rise to reasonable foreseeability that Octopus would be haled into court in Connecticut.

the website, which does not enable a consumer to purchase a product and makes no attempt to attract the Connecticut market, cannot be considered a repeated solicitation targeted to a Connecticut market.

Thomas Whitelaw partner Bill Kolegraff and associate Carolyn Ko led the legal team for Octopus. "Octopus has no offices in and has never sold a product to anyone in Connecticut," said Mr. Kolegraff, "and the judge agreed that maintaining a Website was not a solicitation of business to Connecticut residents. In the absence of any contacts with Connecticut, we immediately moved for dismissal based on the lack of personal jurisdiction and were victorious for our client," he added.

The court found that "without facilitating contractual or business relations with Connecticut residents, the Octopus website does not give rise to reasonable foreseeability that Octopus would be haled into court in Connecticut." The court, in dismissing Panterra's arguments, further confirmed that Octopus's website does not constitute solicitation of business in Connecticut, as "the website, which does not enable a consumer to purchase a product and makes no attempt to attract the Connecticut market, cannot be considered a repeated solicitation targeted to a Connecticut market." The court, moreover, found that none of the alleged tortious conduct occurred in Connecticut, since Octopus did not sell any products in that state.

About Thomas Whitelaw
Thomas Whitelaw & Tyler LLP is one of the nation's premier boutique law firms specializing in complex, high-stakes intellectual property, business and real estate litigation. With a growing bench of nationally recognized attorneys, the firm provides exceptional legal and trial expertise to Fortune 500 and mid-sized companies around the country and in Canada. Thomas Whitelaw, with headquarters in Irvine, CA and offices in San Francisco, was voted a "Go-to Litigation firm" by general counsels across the nation. Visit www.http://www.prweb.com/releases/2009/05/http://www.prweb.com/releases/2009/05/http://www.prweb.com/releases/2009/05/http://www.prweb.com/releases/2009/05/twtlaw.com to learn more.

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