BEAUMONT – Next month, the Ninth Court of Appeals will entertain oral arguments in litigation centered on the sale of 3M masks.
Court records show ALLCO filed suit against TBS Business Solutions and Tewodros Sahilu in Jefferson County District Court.
The appeal stems over Judge Kent Walston, 58th District Court, denying the defendants’ motion for special appearance.
TBS and Sahilu are asking the Ninth Court to reverse the ruling and dismiss all claims asserted by ALLCO for lack of personal jurisdiction.
The defendants contend a trial court must dismiss a complaint for lack of personal jurisdiction over a non-resident defendant when the claimant fails to plead jurisdictional facts demonstrating contacts with Texas and the defendant proves that it is not a Texas resident.
According to the lawsuit, on March 31, 2020, ALLCO, a Beaumont company, ordered 1,000,000 3M Particular Respirator 8210, N95 masks from defendant Global Management Services for the purchase price of $2,900,000 and paid Global a 30 percent deposit of $870,000.
Global contracted with TBS to fill the 3M mask order. TBS was to ship the masks to Texas for Global, but was allegedly unable to fulfill the order and instead shipped Makrite masks to Texas in lieu of 3M masks.
On appeal, ALLCO argues the trial court properly denied the special appearance filed by the nonresident defendants TBS and Sahilu, “each of whom failed to negate all bases of personal jurisdiction and each of whom has sufficient contact with Texas to support the exercise of specific jurisdiction.”
“TBS had multiple contacts with Texas, and there is a substantial connection between those contacts and the operative facts of the litigation,” ALLCO’s brief states. “More specifically, because the nonresident Appellants purposefully directed their activities toward the State of Texas, thereby creating reasonably foreseeable consequences in Texas, and, because the litigation arises out of or is related to those activities, any absence of physical contacts or presence within Texas cannot defeat personal jurisdiction in Texas.”
Germer attorneys Christopher Leavins, Christopher Smith and William Lighty represent ALLCO.
The defendants are represented by attorney Stephanie Holden of Blank Rome in Houston and California attorney Arash Beral.
Appeal case No. 09-21-00146-CV
Trial court case No. A-207203