HOUSTON -- A Texas appeals court ruled Dec. 3 that a lower court incorrectly denied a Thailand Chevron company’s request for special appearance as it faces a negligence charge from a worker injured on the job.
“We hold that the trial court erred when it denied Chevron Thailand Exploration & Production LTD’s special appearance because there is not a substantial connection between the operative facts of appellee Mississippi resident Jaime Taylor’s claims and CTEP’s contacts with Texas,” wrote Texas 14th Court of Appeals Justice Jerry Zimmerer. He and justices Kevin Jewell and Frances Bourliot reversed and rendered the Harris County District Court’s ruling that dismissed Taylor’s case for want of personal jurisdiction.
Taylor filed the lawsuit against CTEP, Chevron USA Inc., Rig QA International and other companies for negligence after he fell on an offshore drilling rig in the Gulf of Thailand in 2015. At that time he worked for Chevron but was an on-loan worker for CTEP.
The judges first ruled that neither CTEP, nor the details of the incident, which occurred in Thailand, have a major connection with Texas. Taylor argued that CTEP should be under specific jurisdiction in the Lone Star State because it allegedly committed a tort in Texas when it hired Rig QA. While Taylor said that CTEP had commercial conduct with 22 companies that have links to Texas, and that CTEP covered 249 trips to Texas from 2012 to 2015, the judges weren’t persuaded.
“We conclude neither supports the conclusion that CTEP is subject to specific jurisdiction because there is no evidence in the record connecting any of these contacts with the operative facts of this claim,” Zimmerer wrote.
Although Rig QA is based in Texas, and the vice president of the company, who also oversaw Rig QA’s performance in Thailand, had offices in Texas, the judges pointed out that the case concerns a third party, not the actual defendant, CTEP, that took issue with personal jurisdiction.
Zimmerer added, “Here, the evidence is undisputed that one, CTEP is a Thailand-based company operating exclusively in Thailand or its waters, and two, Rig QA’s negotiations regarding the contract with CTEP occurred in Thailand…”
Plus, Rig QA’s country manager, who is based in Thailand, never met with CTEP personnel in the U.S. concerning CTEP’s agreement with Rig QA, the appeals court ruled. The contract between CTEP and Rig QA was even performed in Thailand and referenced services done in Thailand. All of the invoices that Rig QA even issued to CTEP were for jobs done outside of Texas, the justices determined.
Ultimately, because Taylor was on a Gulf of Thailand rig when he was hurt, the key of the trial is surrounded by Thailand.
After Taylor's original suit, CTEP filed a special appearance via Rule 120a of the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure, questioning if the court had personal jurisdiction over it. The lower court denied the motion for special appearance, leading to CTEP’s notice of interlocutory appeal.