Dominguez-Cota v. Cooper Tire & Rubber Co.

284 F. Supp. 2d 444, 2003 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 25981, 2003 WL 22239338
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. Mississippi
DecidedSeptember 11, 2003
Docket1:03CV37-D-D
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 284 F. Supp. 2d 444 (Dominguez-Cota v. Cooper Tire & Rubber Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. Mississippi primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Dominguez-Cota v. Cooper Tire & Rubber Co., 284 F. Supp. 2d 444, 2003 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 25981, 2003 WL 22239338 (N.D. Miss. 2003).

Opinion

OPINION GRANTING MOTION TO DISMISS

DAVIDSON, Chief Judge.

Presently before the court is the Defendants’ motion to dismiss the Plaintiffs’ claims on the basis of forum, non conve-niens. Upon due consideration, the court finds that the motion should be granted.

A. Factual and Procedural Background

This litigation arises out of a single vehicle accident that occurred on June 26, *447 2001, on a Mexican national highway in Camino Tijuana/Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. The Plaintiffs, all of whom are Mexican nationals, have alleged that the General Motors vehicle in which they were traveling, as well as a Cooper Tire & Rubber Company tire on the vehicle, was defective and contributed to the accident. The Plaintiffs have also alleged that the Defendant Vincente Dominguez-Mendoza, who was driving the vehicle at the time of the accident, was negligent and thus at least partially responsible for causing the accident.

The Plaintiffs filed suit in the Circuit Court of Lee County, Mississippi, on December 16, 2002. The Defendants subsequently removed the case to this court on the basis of diversity jurisdiction. The Defendants have now moved to dismiss the Plaintiffs’ claims on the basis of forum non conveniens, asserting that Mexico would be a more convenient and appropriate forum in which to litigate this case. The Plaintiffs oppose the motion and assert that there are significant connections between the State of Mississippi and this case, thus making Mississippi an appropriate forum.

B. Standard for Dismissal on the Basis of Forum Non Conveniens

The doctrine of forum non con-veniens “proceed[s] from [the] premise [that] ... [i]n rare circumstances, federal courts can relinquish their jurisdiction in favor of another forum.” Quackenbush v. Allstate Ins. Co., 517 U.S. 706, 722, 116 S.Ct. 1712, 135 L.Ed.2d 1 (1996). Forum non conveniens “enables a court to decline to exercise its jurisdiction if the moving party establishes that the convenience of the parties and the court and the interests of justice indicate that the case should be tried in another forum.” Karim v. Finch Shipping Co., Ltd., 265 F.3d 258, 268 (5th Cir.2001).

Federal courts must apply the federal version oí forum non conveniens in resolving a motion to dismiss when the suggested alternative forum is located in a foreign country. Vasquez v. Bridgestone/Firestone, Inc., 325 F.3d 665, 671 (5th Cir.2003); De Aguilar v. Boeing Co., 11 F.3d 55, 58 (5th Cir.1993). To obtain a dismissal based upon forum non conve-niens, the moving party must demonstrate:

(1) the existence of an available and adequate alternative forum; and
(2) that the balance of relevant private and public interest factors favor dismissal in favor of the alternative forum.

Vasquez, 325 F.3d at 671; Alpine View Co. v. Atlas Copco AB, 205 F.3d 208, 221-22 (5th Cir.2000). In connection with the first element of the test, the court must consider the amenability of the defendants to service of process and the availability of an adequate remedy in the alternative forum. Piper Aircraft v. Reyno, 454 U.S. 235, 254-55, 102 S.Ct. 252, 70 L.Ed.2d 419 (1981); McLennan v. American Eurocopter Corp., Inc., 245 F.3d 403, 424 (5th Cir.2001). The court must also bear in mind that “the ultimate inquiry is where trial will best serve the convenience of the parties and the interests of justice.” In re Air Crash Disaster Near New Orleans, La. on July 9, 1982, 821 F.2d 1147, 1162 (5th Cir.1987) (en banc), vacated on other grounds, Pan Am. World Airways, Inc. v. Lopez, 490 U.S. 1032, 109 S.Ct. 1928, 104 L.Ed.2d 400 (1989) (quoting Koster v. American Lumbermens Mut. Cas. Co., 330 U.S. 518, 527, 67 S.Ct. 828, 91 L.Ed. 1067 (1947)). The defendants bear the burden of proof on all elements of the forum non conveniens analysis. In re Air Crash, 821 F.2d at 1164.

An alternative forum is considered “available” if the entire case and all *448 the parties can come within its jurisdiction. Vasquez, 325 F.3d at 671; In re Air Crash, 821 F.2d at 1165. An available alternative forum is deemed “adequate” if “the parties will not be deprived of all remedies or treated unfairly, even though they may not enjoy the same benefits as they might receive in an American court.” Vasquez, 325 F.3d at 671; Gonzalez v. Chrysler Corp., 301 F.3d 377, 379-80 (5th Cir.2002).

Once a court determines that there is an adequate and available alternative forum, it must then proceed to balance several “private interest” and “public interest” factors in order to determine if dismissal is appropriate. Vasquez, 325 F.3d at 672. The private interest factors include:

(1) the plaintiffs choice of forum;
(2) the relative ease of access to sources of proof;
(3) the availability of compulsory process to ensure the attendance of unwilling witnesses, and the cost of obtaining attendance of willing witnesses;
(4) the possibility of viewing the premises, if a view would be appropriate to the action; and
(5) all other practical problems that make trial of a case easy, expeditious and inexpensive — including the enforceability of any judgment and whether the plaintiff has sought to vex or harass the defendant by selecting an improper forum.

McLennan, 245 F.3d at 424.

The public interest factors that the court must consider include:

(1) the administrative difficulties flowing from court congestion;
(2) the local interest in having localized controversies resolved at home;
(3) the interest in having a trial of a diversity case in a forum that is familiar with the law that must govern the action;

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284 F. Supp. 2d 444, 2003 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 25981, 2003 WL 22239338, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/dominguez-cota-v-cooper-tire-rubber-co-msnd-2003.