Special Appearance – No Allegations of Minimum Contacts

{STYLE OF THE CASE }

DEFENDANT’S SPECIAL APPEARANCE

Defendant asks the court to sustain {his/her/its} special appearance and dismiss plaintiff’s suit.

A. Introduction

1. Plaintiff is {name}; defendant is {name}.

2. Plaintiff sued defendant for {state basis of suit}.

B. Facts

3. Defendant is not a resident of the State of Texas. Defendant {resides/does business} in {identify state}. {See O’Connor’s Texas Rules, “Special Appearance—Challenging Personal Jurisdiction,” ch. 3-B, p. 158.}

4. Defendant attaches an affidavit to this special appearance to establish that {he/she/it} is not a resident of Texas. That affidavit is attached as Exhibit {letter} and incorporated by reference into this motion.

C. Argument & Authorities

5. Texas courts do not have jurisdiction over a nonresident defendant unless the nonresident defendant purposefully established “minimum contacts” with Texas. Burger King Corp. v. Rudzewicz, 471 U.S. 462, 474-76 (1985); Moki Mac River Expeditions v. Drugg, 221 S.W.3d 569, 575-76 (Tex. 2007); BMC Software Belgium N.V. v. Marchand, 83 S.W.3d 789, 795 (Tex. 2002); Guardian Royal Exch. Assurance, Ltd. v. English China Clays, P.L.C., 815 S.W.2d 223, 226 (Tex. 1991).

6. In {his/her/its} petition, plaintiff alleged that defendant is a nonresident of Texas, which is correct and is verified by defendant’s affidavit, Exhibit {letter}. However, plaintiff did not plead any facts that, if true, would make defendant subject to the jurisdiction of a Texas court.

7. When pleading a case against a nonresident, a plaintiff must allege facts that, if true, would make the nonresident defendant subject to in personam jurisdiction of a Texas court. See Paramount Pipe & Supply Co. v. Muhr, 749 S.W.2d 491, 496 (Tex. 1988); M.G.M. Grand Hotel, Inc. v. Castro, 8 S.W.3d 403, 408 n.2 (Tex. App.—Corpus Christi 1999, no pet.). The plaintiff has the initial burden of pleading sufficient allegations to bring a nonresident defendant within the provisions of the Long-Arm Statute. Moki Mac, 221 S.W.3d at 574; American Type Culture Collection, Inc. v. Coleman, 83 S.W.3d 801, 807 (Tex. 2002). When a plaintiff fails to plead jurisdictional allegations that a nonresident defendant committed an act in Texas or that the defendant’s acts outside Texas had reasonably foreseeable consequences in Texas, the defendant can meet its burden to negate all potential bases of jurisdiction by presenting evidence that it is a nonresident. See Siskind v. Villa Found. for Educ., Inc., 642 S.W.2d 434, 438 & n.5 (Tex. 1982); Perna v. Hogan, 162 S.W.3d 648, 653 (Tex. App.—Houston [14th Dist.] 2005, no pet.); Frank A. Smith Sales, Inc. v. Atlantic Aero, Inc., 31 S.W.3d 742, 746 (Tex. App.—Corpus Christi 2000, no pet.). {See “Not Texas resident,” ch. 3-B, §2.3.1, p. 159.}

8. Defendant has met {his/her/its} burden of negating all potential bases of jurisdiction by its affidavit, Exhibit {letter}, which establishes the fact that {he/she/it} is a nonresident of Texas.

D. Prayer

9. For these reasons, defendant asks the court to resolve the special appearance without a hearing, based on the pleadings and the affidavits and any discovery on file, sustain defendant’s special appearance, and enter a final judgment dismissing plaintiff’s cause of action.