Rice v. Oriental Fireworks Co.

Plaintiff appeals from a judgment dismissing his claim against J.C. Chou (Chou) for lack of personal jurisdiction. Plaintiff filed this claim against, inter alia, J.C. Oriental Fireworks, Inc., (Oriental) a Maryland corporation, and Chou, a Maryland resident, for personal injuries he suffered while discharging fireworks distributed by Oriental or Chou. In a pretrial order, ultimately reduced to the judgment appealed from, the trial court granted Chou’s motion to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction. Oriental then dismissed local counsel and allowed an uncontested judgment to be taken…