Sexual Assault Claim Properly Dismissed; Personal Jurisdiction Lacking

In DeLorenzo v. Viceroy Hotel Group LLC, 17-3470 (2d Cir. Nov. 21, 2018) (Summary Order), the court held that plaintiff’s personal injury complaint – based on an alleged sexual assault by an employee of a a hotel in Anguilla – was properly dismissed because the court did not have personal jurisdiction over the defendant.

The court provides the following summary of the law:

Under New York law, DeLorenzo first had to demonstrate that the Viceroy Defendants or the Ricketts Defendants were either (1) “present” and “doing business” within the meaning of New York Civil Practice Law and Rules (“CPLR”) § 301, or (2) that they committed acts within the scope of New York’s long‐arm statute, CPLR § 302. DeLorenzo then needed to show that the Viceroy Defendants or the Ricketts Defendants had sufficient “minimum contacts” with the forum “such that the maintenance of the suit does not offend traditional notions of fair play and substantial justice.”

Applying the law, the court held that defendants – based in Anguilla – were not subject to either type of jurisdiction.

As to the first, the court noted, inter alia, that “[w]ebsite accessibility does not establish a corporation’s home.'”

Share This: