Türedi v. Coca-Cola Co.

343 F. App'x 623
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Second Circuit
DecidedJuly 7, 2009
DocketNo. 06-5464-cv
StatusPublished

This text of 343 F. App'x 623 (Türedi v. Coca-Cola Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Türedi v. Coca-Cola Co., 343 F. App'x 623 (2d Cir. 2009).

Opinion

SUMMARY ORDER

Plaintiff-Appellants, citizens of Turkey, commenced this action in the Southern District of New York asserting claims under the Alien Tort Statute (“ATS”), 28 U.S.C. § 1350, the Torture Victim Protection Act (“TVPA”), 28 U.S.C. § 1350 note, the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (“RICO”), 18 U.S.C. § 1961 et seq., and New York common law and statutory causes of action. The district court (Marrero, J.) granted the motion of Defendant-Appellees Coca-Cola Company (“Coca Cola”), Coca-Cola Export Corporation (“CCEC”), and Coca-Cola Icecek, A.S. (“CCI”) to dismiss the complaint on forum non conveniens grounds. We assume the parties’ familiarity with the underlying facts and the procedural history of the case, as well as the issues on appeal. See Turedi v. Coca Cola Co., 460 F.Supp.2d 507, 509-511 (S.D.N.Y.2006).

Under the common-law doctrine of forum non conveniens, a court has the power to dismiss a case where that case would be more appropriately brought in a foreign court. See Sinochem Int’l Co., Ltd. v. Malaysia Int’l Shipping Corp., 549 U.S. 422, 429-30, 127 S.Ct. 1184, 167 L.Ed.2d 15 (2007). The doctrine “finds its roots in the inherent power of the courts ‘to manage their own affairs so as to achieve the orderly and expeditious disposition of cases.’ ” Monégasque de Reassurances S.A.M. v. NAK Naftogaz of Ukraine, 311 F.3d 488, 497 (2d Cir.2002) (quoting Chambers v. NASCO, Inc., 501 U.S. 32, 43, 111 S.Ct. 2123, 115 L.Ed.2d 27 (1991).) “ ‘The principle of forum non convenience is simply that a court may resist imposition upon its jurisdiction even when jurisdiction is authorized by the letter of a general venue statute.’ ” Id. (quoting Gulf Oil Corp. v. Gilbert, 330 U.S. 501, 507, 67 S.Ct. 839, 91 L.Ed. 1055 (1947)).

Our review of a district court’s dismissal on forum non conveniens grounds is very limited. See Iragorri v. United Techs. Corp., 274 F.3d 65, 72 (2d Cir.2001) (en banc). We have previously recognized that “[t]he decision to dismiss a case on forum non conveniens grounds lies wholly within the broad discretion of the district court and may be overturned only when we believe that discretion has been clearly abused.” Id. (internal quotation marks omitted). This limited review “encompasses the right to determine whether the dis[625]*625trict court reached an erroneous conclusion on either the facts or the law, or relied on an incorrect rule of law in reaching its determination.” Id. (internal citations and quotation marks omitted). “A district court abuses its discretion in granting a forum non conveniens dismissal when its decision (1) rests either on an error of law or on a clearly erroneous finding of fact, or (2) cannot be located within the range of permissible decisions, or (3) fails to consider all the relevant factors or unreasonably balances those factors.” Norex Petroleum, Ltd. v. Access Indus., 416 F.3d 146, 153 (2d Cir.2005) (internal quotation marks omitted). In addressing a motion to dismiss for forum non conveniens, courts must consider: (1) the degree of deference afforded to the plaintiffs choice of forum; (2) whether the alternative forum is adequate; and (3) the balance of the public and private interests implicated in the choice of forum. See id.

It is well settled in this Circuit that a foreign plaintiffs choice of forum deserves less deference than the same choice by a domestic plaintiff. See Iragorri, 274 F.3d at 71-72 (citing Piper Aircraft Co. v. Reyno, 454 U.S. 235, 255-56, 102 S.Ct. 252, 70 L.Ed.2d 419 (1981)). As a general matter, a district court should consider the degree to which the plaintiff or the lawsuit has a bona fide connection to the United States and to the forum of choice, and the degree to which considerations of convenience favor the conduct of the lawsuit in the United States. Id. at 72. The more specific factors arguing against dismissal on forum non conveniens grounds include convenience of the plaintiffs residence in relation to the chosen forum, the availability of witnesses or evidence to the forum district, the defendant’s amenability to suit in the forum district, and the availability of appropriate legal assistance. Id. Factors favoring forum non conveniens dismissal include the degree to which

it appears that the plaintiffs choice of a U.S. forum was motivated by forum-shopping reasons — such as attempts to win a tactical advantage resulting from local laws that favor the plaintiffs case, the habitual generosity of juries in the United States or in the forum district, the plaintiffs popularity or the defendant’s unpopularity in the region, or the inconvenience and expense to the defendant resulting from litigation in that forum.

Id.

Here, as the district court correctly recognized, none of the plaintiffs are U.S. citizens, and defendant CCI is a Turkish company with its principal place of business in Istanbul and has no alleged contact to the United States. The district court further noted that “[t]he underlying injuries Plaintiffs assert stem from their alleged assaults and arrests by the Turkish police arising from their labor dispute with Trakya and CCI in Istanbul.” Turedi, 460 F.Supp.2d at 522. We agree that such “facts give rise to a strong inference that forum-shopping considerations served as a substantial motivation in plaintiffs’ venue choice in [the Southern] District.” Id. Accordingly, the district court was not required to grant special deference to plaintiffs’ choice of a New York forum.

We next address whether an alternative and adequate forum exists. “An alternative forum is adequate if the defendants are amenable to service of process there, and if it permits litigation of the subject matter of the dispute.” Norex Petroleum Ltd., 416 F.3d at 157 (quoting Pollux Holding Ltd. v. Chase Manhattan Bank, 329 F.3d 64, 75 (2d Cir.2003)); Bank of Credit & Commerce Int’l (Overseas) Ltd. v. State Bank of Pakistan, 273 F.3d 241, 246 (2d Cir.2001). A forum may be deemed inadequate if it is “characterized [626]*626by a complete absence of due process or an inability of the forum to provide substantial justice.” Monegasque de Reassurances S.A.M., 311 F.3d at 499.

We conclude that the record amply supports the district court’s decision concerning the availability and adequacy of a Turkish forum in this case and that it properly rejected Plaintiffs’ eonclusory and unsupported allegations that the Turkish justice system is corrupt. See generally Monegasque de Reassurances S.A.M.,

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