Aieshya Kay Bellamy v. Blue Cross Blue Shield of South Carolina, et al.

Summary

The United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio held that it lacked personal jurisdiction over Blue Cross Blue Shield of South Carolina and the individual defendants in an employment discrimination action brought by Aieshya Kay Bellamy. The court also determined that venue was improper in Ohio and transferred the action to the District of South Carolina under 28 U.S.C. § 1406(a).

Holdings

1. The court lacked general personal jurisdiction over all defendants because the record did not show that Blue Cross Blue Shield of South Carolina or its affiliates and subsidiaries were incorporated or headquartered in Ohio, and the individual defendants were South Carolina residents.
2. Plaintiff failed to establish specific personal jurisdiction over Blue Cross Blue Shield of South Carolina based on contacts of its affiliates and subsidiaries.
3. Plaintiff's remote work from Ohio did not establish specific personal jurisdiction over the defendants.
4. The court lacked personal jurisdiction over the individual defendants because plaintiff did not show that they purposefully availed themselves of Ohio law or engaged in the alleged discriminatory conduct in Ohio.
5. Venue was improper in the Northern District of Ohio.
6. When venue is improper, transfer to the District of South Carolina was appropriate in the interest of justice rather than dismissal.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the court could exercise general or specific personal jurisdiction over the South Carolina corporate and individual defendants.
2. Whether plaintiff's remote work from Ohio, or contacts of Blue Cross Blue Shield of South Carolina's affiliates and subsidiaries, established specific personal jurisdiction.
3. Whether venue was proper in the Northern District of Ohio under 28 U.S.C. § 1391(b) or Title VII's venue provision, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-5(f)(3).
4. Whether the action should be transferred to the District of South Carolina under 28 U.S.C. § 1406(a) rather than dismissed.

Disposition

remanded