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Rel: 12/12/08

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SUPREME COURT OF ALABAMA
OCTOBER TERM, 2008-2009 _________________________ 1071184 _________________________ Felicia D. Brown, as dependent widow and personal representative of the estate of Jeremiah Brown, deceased v. ABUS Kransysteme GmbH Appeal from Morgan Circuit Court (CV-06-763) WOODALL, Justice. Felicia D. Brown, as dependent widow and personal

representative of the estate of Jeremiah Brown, deceased, appeals from a judgment dismissing for lack of in personam jurisdiction her product-liability action against ABUS

1071184 Kransysteme GmbH ("ABUS"), a limited liability company

organized under the laws of the Federal Republic of Germany and the manufacturer of the component part of a crane that allegedly husband. malfunctioned, We affirm. I. Factual Background On August 2, 2006, Jeremiah Brown was operating a crane for his employer Steel Related Technology New, LLC ("SRT"). The crane was manufactured by Wolverine Crane & Service, Inc. ("Wolverine"), a Michigan corporation, and was equipped with a hoist manufactured by ABUS bearing serial number 78838. He resulting in the death of her

was killed when a wire rope on the hoist snapped, allowing a beam to fall on him. On October 4, 2006, Felicia Brown sued

ABUS and others asserting claims under the Alabama Extended Manufacturer's Liability Doctrine and other theories. On December 20, 2006, ABUS moved to dismiss the claims against it, arguing that it "lack[ed] minimum contacts with the State of Alabama sufficient to permit an exercise of in personam jurisdiction consistent with the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States." In support of its motion, ABUS filed the affidavit

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1071184 of Lothar B

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