Torres v. Bridgestone/Firestone North American Tire, LLC

498 S.W.3d 565, 2016 WL 1403658, 2016 Tenn. App. LEXIS 248
CourtCourt of Appeals of Tennessee
DecidedApril 7, 2016
StatusPublished
Cited by11 cases

This text of 498 S.W.3d 565 (Torres v. Bridgestone/Firestone North American Tire, LLC) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Tennessee primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Torres v. Bridgestone/Firestone North American Tire, LLC, 498 S.W.3d 565, 2016 WL 1403658, 2016 Tenn. App. LEXIS 248 (Tenn. Ct. App. 2016).

Opinion

OPINION

BRANDON 0. GIBSON, J.,

delivered the opinion of the court, in which

W. NEAL McBRAYER and KENNY ARMSTRONG, JJ., joined.

Mexican car crash victims filed this lawsuit in Tennessee against the manufacturer of the subject vehicle and the manufacturer of its tires. The original lawsuit was dismissed by this Court in 2003 under the doctrine of forum non conveniens. A separate lawsuit was filed in Mexico but ultimately dismissed. The plaintiffs then filed this action in Tennessee. As the case progressed, the parties disputed whether Tennessee law or Mexican law applies to the substantive issues in this case. The trial court ruled that Mexican law applies. The plaintiffs were granted an interlocutory appeal to this Court pursuant to Rule 9 of the Tennessee Rules of Appellate Procedure. On appeal, the plaintiffs argue that Tennessee law should apply to the substantive issues in this case because it has the most significant relationship to the litigation. The defendants argue that the choice-of-law issue was resolved in our 2003 opinion and should not be reconsidered due to the doctrine of collateral estop-pel. Alternatively, they argue that Mexico has the most significant relationship to the litigation, and therefore, its law should apply. For the following reasons, we conclude that this Court’s determination in our 2003 decision regarding the applicable choice-of-law is entitled to preclusive effect. Accordingly, as we concluded in 2003, Mexican law will govern the substantive issues in this case. The trial court’s order is affirmed as modified and remanded for further proceedings.

I. Facts & Procedural History

This case involves a car crash that occurred in Mexico in 2000, when Felix Luis Torres (“Torres”) was driving a Ford Explorer with Firestone tires. The accident was allegedly caused by a tire blowout and subsequent vehicle rollover. Torres and another passenger, Engracia Torres Ojeda (“Ojeda”), were injured, and Ms. Ojeda’s husband and mother, also passengers, were killed.

In October 2000, Torres and Ojeda (individually and on behalf of her husband and mother) (collectively, “the Torres Plaintiffs”) filed a lawsuit in the circuit court for Davidson County, Tennessee, asserting various claims against defendants Ford Motor Company and Bridge-stone/Firestone North American Tire, LLC. The complaint alleged claims of negligence, strict liability, violation of the Tennessee Consumer Protection Act, and civil conspiracy. In May 2001, the trial court consolidated this case for pretrial purposes with thirty other cases filed in the circuit court for Davidson County involving Mexican plaintiffs and the defendants Ford Motor Company (“Ford”), Bridgestone/Firestone North American Tire, LLC (“Firestone”), and in some [569]*569cases, Bridgestone Corporation. These consolidated cases were styled as In re: Bridgestone/Firestone & Ford Motor Company Tire Litigation.

Ford and Firestone moved for dismissal of the eases based on the doctrine of forum non conveniens. They claimed that Mexico was the preferable forum in which to conduct the litigation because the cases would be governed by Mexican law, the plaintiffs are Mexican citizens, the accidents occurred in Mexico, the vehicles and tires were purchased in Mexico, and witnesses and medical proof were located in Mexico. In response, the plaintiffs argued that Tennessee was the more appropriate forum and had a more significant connection to the litigation because Firestone maintains its headquarters in Tennessee and Plaintiffs alleged that a conspiracy occurred in Tennessee. The plaintiffs also asserted that Tennessee law should apply to the substantive issues in the case. The trial court denied the defendants’ motion to dismiss on the basis of forum non con-veniens, making two determinative findings. First, the trial court found that Mexico did not provide a truly adequate alternative forum for the cases. Second, the court found that the relevant public and private interest factors did not warrant dismissal under the doctrine of forum non conveniens.

This Court granted the defendants’ application for extraordinary appeal pursuant to Rule 10 of the Tennessee Rules of Appellate Procedure. We reversed the ruling of the trial court in In re Bridgestone/Firestone, 188 S.W.3d 202 (Tenn.Ct.App.2003) (“Firestone I ”). We explained that a two-part analysis applies- when determining whether dismissal is appropriate under the doctrine of forum non conveniens. Id. at 205. First, the court must ensure that at least one forum other than the chosen forum is available where the plaintiff may bring the cause of action. Id. If such a forum is available, the court must then consider a series of public and private interest factors that .guide the court’s decision on whether dismissal is appropriate.1 Id.

Regarding the first step of the analysis, we held that the trial court erred in finding that Mexico was not a “truly adequate” alternative forum. Id. at 205. We explained that the focus of the inquiry is on the availability of the forum, not its perceived adequacy. Id. at 206. Because Ford and Firestone consented to waive any jurisdictional defenses if the plaintiffs filed suit in Mexico, we concluded that Mexico provided an available alternative forum. Id. at 207. ■

Moving to the second step, we considered the various factors concerning private and public interests that may warrant dismissal. We concluded that the private factors did not warrant dismissal because the trials promised to be costly and time-consuming regardless of the location of the forum. Id. However, we concluded that the relevant public interest factors weighed strongly in favor of litigating in Mexico. Specifically, we concluded that the trial- court did not properly consider the difficulties that would arise from applying Mexican law to the cases, the burden that would be imposed on the citizens of Davidson County by empaneling multiple juries, and Mexico’s overwhelming interest in' adjudicating localized controversies involving accidents that occurred within its' borders and injured its citizens. [570]*570Id. at 208-209. As such, we reversed the trial - court’s ruling and dismissed the consolidated cases on the basis of forum non conveniens. Id. at 210. The plaintiffs sought permission to appeal from the Tennessee Supreme Court, but their application was denied on June 1, 2004.

Thereafter, the Torres Plaintiffs and numerous other plaintiffs filed separate lawsuits in Mexico. All of the Mexican lawsuits were dismissed. On May 26, 2005, the Torres Plaintiffs filed this lawsuit in the circuit court of Davidson County. Twenty-five similar lawsuits were filed by other Mexican plaintiffs in the same court. The cases were again consolidated for pretrial purposes under the style In Re: Bridgestone Firestone <⅞ Ford Motor Company.

The defendants filed motions to dismiss the consolidated litigation on the basis of collateral estoppel. They argued- that the issues of forum non conveniens, and specifically, the availability of Mexico as an available alternative forum, had been determined in their favor in Firestone I. Accordingly, the defendants argued that the doctrine of collateral estoppel precluded the plaintiffs from claiming that a Mexican forum was unavailable.

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498 S.W.3d 565, 2016 WL 1403658, 2016 Tenn. App. LEXIS 248, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/torres-v-bridgestonefirestone-north-american-tire-llc-tennctapp-2016.