People ex rel. Harris v. Native Wholesale Supply Co.

*360 Opinion

The State of California (the State) sued defendant Native Wholesale Supply Company (NWS) for allegedly violating state law on cigarette distribution 1 , and state law on cigarette fire safety.

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NWS moved successfully to quash service for lack of personal jurisdiction.

NWS is an out-of-state, tribal-chartered corporation that is owned by a Native American individual. Its principal business is the sale and distribution of cigarettes manufactured by Grand River Enterprises Six Nations Ltd. (Grand River), a tribal-owned corporation in Canada. Since late 2003, NWS has sold hundreds of millions of Grand River cigarettes to a small Indian tribe in California, and these cigarettes, in turn, have been sold to the California public.

Based on this scenario, we conclude that NWS has purposefully derived benefit from California activities under the stream of commerce theory, sufficient to invoke personal jurisdiction. Indeed, for personal jurisdiction purposes, we see not just a stream of commerce, but a torrent. Consequently, we shall reverse the order quashing service and remand this matter to the trial court. (Code Civ. Proc., § 904.1, subd. (a)(3).)

We will set forth…