Rocklin De Mexico, SA v. Superior Court

In this appeal we hold that, in the circumstances of this case, substantial purchases of California goods by an out-of-state buyer provide sufficient minimum contacts with the state to sustain its jurisdiction over the buyer in a suit for breach of the contracts of sale.

Rocklin De Mexico (hereafter defendant) is a Mexican corporation which bought raw materials from a California supplier for use in its box manufacturing plant in Mexico. The purchases were effected by orders placed from outside the state. The California seller filed suit alleging defendant failed to pay for $70,000 worth of goods.

This case comes to us on a timely petition for review of the trial court’s denial of a motion to quash service of summons. (See Code Civ. Proc., § 418.10, subd. (c).) We will deny the petition.

Facts

Defendant manufactures wooden crates and boxes at a factory in Mexicali, Mexico. Prior to May 1, 1981, Rocklin Mouldings, Inc., a California corporation, had an ownership interest in defendant. It is related by common ownership to Rocklin Forest Products, Inc., another California corporation, which is in the lumber business. During Rocklin Mouldings’ tenure as an owner of…