Ninth Court of Appeals Affirms Specific Jurisdiction Over Nonresident in Papua New Guinea Oil Interest Dispute

The Beaumont Court of Appeals affirmed personal jurisdiction over a nonresident defendant in litigation involving allegations that he conspired with an oil company president to defraud a deceased attorney out of a 0.5% interest in Papua New Guinea exploration valued at $19 million. The court held that the defendant purposefully availed himself of the privilege of conducting activities in Texas and that the claims arose from those contacts, satisfying the two-prong test for specific jurisdiction under Texas's long-arm statute.