Daimler Trucks North America LLC v. Super. Ct.

INTRODUCTION

Petitioner Daimler Trucks North America LLC (Daimler) is a defendant in a lawsuit brought by real parties in interest Yongquan Hu and Jinghua Ren (collectively, Hu). Hu seeks to recover for injuries stemming from a truck accident that occurred in Oklahoma. 1 Daimler filed a motion to quash for lack of personal jurisdiction, which the trial court denied. In this petition for a writ of mandate, Daimler argues the motion to quash should have been granted because the operative facts do not establish Daimler is subject to jurisdiction in California. Daimler additionally challenges the trial court’s rulings on its evidentiary objections. We deny the petition for writ of mandate.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

1. The Long Distance Tractor-Trailer Accident Sometime prior to March 21, 2020, Mr. Hu and Ran Gao, both California residents and long-distance tractor-trailer drivers, made their way from California to the east coast. On that date, they were on the return trip to California, transporting goods from New Jersey. While Gao was driving on Interstate 40 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, the tractor-trailer was involved in a single vehicle accident. Mr. Hu was seriously…