KANSAS CITY – A federal court in Missouri has ruled it does not have personal jurisdiction in a workers' compensation case and has transferred it to a Kansas court.
Amsted Rail Co.’s motion to dismiss was granted in part and denied in part by Judge Stephen Bough of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri in the Western Division on April 30.
Amsted claimed that the court did not have personal jurisdiction in plaintiff Frederick L. Simmons’ lawsuit. The court backed the argument and moved the case to the U.S. District Court for the District of Kansas.
U.S. District Court Judge Stephen R. Bough
Simmons was an Amsted employee at its Kansas City, Kansas facility when he said he “sustained a serious on-the-job injury” on Sept. 27, 2017, according to the ruling. While the injury was covered by workers' compensation, he alleged he was fired less than a month after his injury. Simmons then sued over allegations of wrongful discharge because of workers' compensation retaliation and/or age discrimination.
Amsted filed a motion to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction in October. The court denied that motion in December, and Amsted filed a renewed one in February. This time around, Bough agreed that the court did not have personal jurisdiction over Amsted despite the Due Process Clause.
“Even if Missouri’s long-arm statute covered defendant’s alleged conduct, the Due Process Clause bars this court from exercising specific personal jurisdiction over defendant,” Bough wrote. “Defendant lacks sufficient minimum contacts with Missouri.”
The ruling pointed out that Amsted is not an incorporated company and also does not have a principal place of business in the state of Missouri. Plus, Simmons’ injury did not occur in Missouri.
While Simmons attempted to prove that Amsted does have contacts in Missouri by presenting evidence that the company employs Missouri residents, Bough ruled that this is not enough to prove jurisdiction.
“Plaintiff’s claims arise from defendant’s purposeful contacts in Kansas, not its contacts in Missouri,” Bough wrote.
The ruling reiterated that Simmons was injured in the Kansas City, Kansas facility and said transfer was appropriate. Amsted's motion to dismiss the action with prejudice was denied.