Siskiyou Properties, LLC v. Bennett Holdings, LC

MEMORANDUM **

In this action for breach of contract in the purchase of a shopping mall, Siskiyou, the Oregon plaintiff, appeals the district court’s order that granted the motion of Bennett, an Idaho citizen, to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction. Bennett, the seller, argues that the district court did not have personal jurisdiction and, in the alternative, that it also lacked subject matter jurisdiction. This Court reviews de novo the district court’s dismissal of a ease for lack of jurisdiction. See United States v. Ruiz-Alvarez, 211 F.3d 1181, 1184 (9th Cir.2000). In a diversity case, the district court’s job is to predict how the forum state’s highest court would interpret and apply the relevant state law. See Stanford Ranch, Inc. v. Maryland Casualty Co., 89 F.3d 618, 624 (9th Cir.1996).

In March 1998, Brent E. Terrell, a real estate agent, telephoned Alan Wells in Corvallis, Oregon. Wells was the agent of Siskyou’s predecessor in interest, Eric Bunn, and is a principal of Siskiyou. Terrell told Wells that he was soliciting offers to purchase the Eastside Marketplace (hereinafter “the Property”) in Idaho.

Shelley Bennett and Terrell stated in affidavits that Bennet…