Berdelle Schmidkunz v. Scandinavian Airlines System, Kingdom of Denmark and Copenhagen Airports Authority

Appellant Schmidkunz sued the Kingdom of Denmark, the Copenhagen Airports Authority, and Scandinavian Airlines System (SAS), in the Central District of California. The Airports Authority is an agency of the Kingdom of Denmark. SAS is a foreign consortium with its principal place of business in Stockholm, Sweden. Her complaint alleged negligence in the operation and maintenance of a moving walkway in the area of the passenger terminal at the Kastrup Airport at Copenhagen, which is operated by the Airports Authority. She had debarked from an airliner from the United States and was in the terminal awaiting a departure on an SAS airliner for the remainder of her trip.

The district judge dismissed Denmark and the Airports Authority for lack of personal jurisdiction, holding that appellant’s service of a tourism representative at the Scandinavian National Tourist Office in Los Angeles was insufficient. The district judge thereafter granted summary judgment in favor of SAS, holding that it owed appellant no duty of care with respect to the operation or maintenance of the walkway.

We shall discuss the dismissal of Denmark and CAA first. The motion to dismiss was supported by a detailed…