Res. Healthcare of Am., Inc. v. McKinney, 940 So. 2d 1139 (Fla. 2nd DCA 2006)

The personal representative of the resident’s estate sued multiple corporations for nursing home negligence including Residence Healthcare, a foreign corporation. Residence Healthcare moved to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction. Plaintiff is first required to demonstrate that the long-arm statute reaches the defendant; if so, then the court determines whether minimum contacts exist. In this case, the issue of minimum contacts was not reached because Plaintiff did not establish that the long-arm statute provided a basis for jurisdiction. Although Plaintiff alleged that Residence Healthcare established, conducted, managed, operated, or maintained the nursing home, and therefore had a duty to the resident that was breached, the court found that deposition testimony showed otherwise. The depositions also failed to show, other than ownership of a subsidiary, that Residence Healthcare conducted business in Florida or had any substantial activity in Florida. Ownership of a subsidiary, without more, is insufficient to confer jurisdiction and reversed. The court, however, note that if a parent corporation was shown to exercise sufficient control over a subsidiary, that control would establish agency and support jurisdiction. Here, the trial court was directed to grant the motion to dismiss.