PHILADELPHIA – A liability lawsuit filed against Irish Bred Pub Concepts Co. by two patrons of an independently owned and operated establishment was dismissed by the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania in an April 25 ruling.
U.S. District Judge John Ditter Jr. granted the motion to dismiss and issued a five-page ruling in the lawsuit filed by pub patrons Karen and Robert Arnold.
The Arnolds sued Irish Bred Pub Concepts in 2014 amid claims of personal injury and loss of consortium. The Arnolds alleged that Karen Arnold fell off an elevated platform at an Irish Bred Pub in Montgomery, Ala., on Aug. 11, 2014 while having dinner.
U.S. District Judge John Ditter Jr.
The ruling said Karen Arnold "stepped off the elevated platform and fell, injuring herself" after leaving the couple's table.
Although the Arnolds are residents of Pennsylvania, Ditter said in the ruling that Irish Bred Pub Concepts "is a franchising company" based in Fayetteville, Ga., and that it "has no franchises located in Pennsylvania."
Ditter said in his opinion that "this court lacks personal jurisdiction over defendants because they have no connection with Pennsylvania and could not have foreseen that they would be haled into a Pennsylvania court." The ruling said the Arnolds argued that the fact that Irish Bred Pub Concepts, which sells franchising opportunities nationwide, maintains a website for that purpose "is sufficient to establish personal jurisdiction."
"Defendants are not citizens of Pennsylvania, do not maintain a principal place of business here, nor do they have the requisite 'continuous and systematic' affiliations required for general jurisdiction," Ditter said in the ruling.