Stephen Hamilton v. Alexander Proudfoot Company World Headquarters

This is an appeal from a non-final order denying appellant's motion to dismiss the cause for lack of personal jurisdiction. The essential factual background necessary for resolution of the immediate controversy presented in this non-final appeal is that in 1985 appellant, Hamilton, a Tennessee resident, was employed by APC Skills Company (APC) and assigned to various projects in West Virginia, North Carolina, Georgia, and Canada. In January, 1987, Hamilton was advised that he was being transferred to The Institute for Management Improvement (IMI) and, on February 27, 1987, he executed an employment agreement with IMI and a second agreement with APC. Later in April, 1987, Hamilton was transferred by IMI to Sydney, Australia, where he has since resided and worked. Simultaneously with his transfer to Australia, Hamilton was apparently transferred from IMI to Alexander Proudfoot Company (APCO) an Illinois limited partnership. Around June or July 1987, APCO transferred him to Alexander Proudfoot Company World Headquarters, Inc. (Proudfoot). Hamilton testified that he was initially unaware of these transfers and did not sign a new employment agreement with Proudfoot. Though it is not essential to our resolution of the questions presented, and conclusions reached, we observe that Hamilton's services were assignable to affiliates and the evidence in the record indicates that Alexander Proudfoot Company World Headquarters, Inc., and the other companies by whom Hamilton had been employed were actually affiliated with one another. Finally, in May, 1989, Hamilton resigned his employment with appellee, Proudfoot, and began working for a competitor in Australia.