Venue and forum non conveniens

Question 1

what is forum

Answer 1

the sovereign in whose court the case is adjudicated

US courts=forum
SC State court=forum

Question 2

what is venue

Answer 2

the location within that sovereigns court system where the case can proceed

ie the location within the forum

Venue is usually county by county in state

Question 3

what is the forum state

Answer 3

For personal jurisdiction purposes, the state where the federal court that adjudicates the case sits.

Question 4

what is the transfer of venue

Answer 4

The reassignment of a federal case from one district to another where venue and personal jurisdiction are proper.

Question 5

who is the Transferor Court

Answer 5

The court that decides whether to transfer the case.

Question 6

who is theTransferee Court

Answer 6

The court that receives the transferred case.

Question 7

what is Forum Non Conveniens Dismissal

Answer 7

Dismissal of the case from the federal court system entirely, due to extreme inconvenience for one or more defendants.

Question 8

what are us and state courts - fourm or venue

Answer 8

forum

Question 9

what question does venue answer

Answer 9

which specifc courthouse (ie district) must you file your complaint

Question 10

what are the options of where you can lay venue via rule1391(b)

Answer 10

(b)(1) – in the judicial district in which any defendant resides, IF all defendants reside in the same state OR

(b)(2) – A SUBSTANTIAL part of the events or omissions on which the claim is based occured OR

(b)(3) – in the judicial district in which any defendant is subject to pj (THIS IS ONLY TO BE USED AS A LAST RESORT)

Question 11

What does rule 1391(d) govern in terms of venue

Answer 11

tells us what to do when there are multiple distticts in a case AND the D is a corporation

tells us that the corporation will be deemed to reside in any district in the state in which its contacts would be enough under PJ as if it were its own state

Question 12

whats the two step analysis we have to do under 1391(d) if it applies (ie in a state that has more than one district and the D is a business)

ex: you are a bussiness being sued in CA

Answer 12

1. In PJ portion of exam, tell him whether there is PJ over the D in CA
2. Then, for the purpose of venue, if the D is a corporation and we are in a state like CA, in order to figure out venue based on resided, we have to do ANOTHER pj analysis
   You have to carve out the central district of CA and hypothetically assume that were its own state, and you determine where the corp would be subject to PJ in that hypo state you carved out

Question 13

reasor hill take away:

Planters filed suit to collect an account for having sprayed insecticide on Bartons cotton crop in MISSOURI
In his answer, Barton said that Planters had damaged his growing crop (real property?) by using an adulterated insecticide, and in a CROSS COMPLAINT, he sought damages from Reasor hill for negligence in putting the spray on the market
Reasor hills is an ARKANSAS corporation engaged in manufacturing insecticides and is NOT authorized to do business in MISSOURI

Reasor is asking the court to not allow the circut court of MISSOURI to take jurisdiction over the cross compliant filed by Barton

ISSUE
May the Arkansas courts entertain suit for injuries to real property situated in another state?

Answer 13

Case gets ride of the local v transitory distinction

Transitory- a case that might have arisen anywhere
Local- a case that involved a particular piece of land

An Arkansas court may hear a suit for injuries to real property that is located in another state.

Question 14

Bates v. C&S Adjusters key takeaway (b(2) - substantial

Bates sued c and s because he alleged that they violated the fair debt and collection practices act
Bates incurred the debt while he was in PA, and the creditor, with it principle place of location in PA referred c and s to serve bates

When they mailed the collection notice to bates address in PA, bates had already moved to NY, and because there wasn’t a restriction about not forwarding the notice, the postal service mailed it to bates at his NY residence

Bates commenced this action in the western district of new York
C and s appealed the complaint filed in new York because of improper venue

ISSUE
Whether venue exists in a district in which the debtor resides and to which a bill collector’s demand for payment was forwarded
Was bates claim in Ny valid or should it have been filed in PA

Answer 14

in an action brought under the fair debt collection practices act, venue exists in a district in which the debtor resides and to which a collection agency’s demand for payment was forwarded

A LIBERAL APPROACH TO SECTION b2

Debt incurred in PA, creditor in PA, P MOVES to NY

Receipt of the letter is enough, and intent is NOT a factor here

Question 15

Jenkins Brick Co. v. Bremer key takeaway

Jenkins filed suit in the us district court for the middle district of ALABAMA
Bremmer moved to dismiss the case for lack of venue, or alternatively, to transfer the case to the US district court for the southern district of Georgia
The district court transferred the case to GA
ISSUE
How should the court interpret subsection 2 of the statue governing venue in diversity case

Answer 15

Strict application of b2

only those events that have a close nexus to the alleged wrong are relevant in determining proper venue

Question 16

what is forum non convenius

Answer 16

a common law doctrine to handle situations in which the P has laid proper venue, but an alternaive forum exssits that is a better place to hear the lawsuit

Question 17

what does 1404 allow courts to do generally

Answer 17

allows transfer to another proper venue for the CONVIENCE of parties and witnesses or the INTEREST OF JUSTICE

Question 18

what does 1404a do (ie transger of venue)

Answer 18

allows transfer to any venue that all parties consent to

Question 19

what do we consider with inconvience in terms of venue transfer

Answer 19

depends on accessibly and availability of witnesses and evidence, not so much the parties in the suit

Question 20

whats the difference between a regular venue transfer bc of inconvience vs forum non convenins

Answer 20

with forum non conveniuns it results in dismissal (applies where fed courts have no authoirty to move case where it belongs ie forigen courts)

Question 21

what are the gilbert factors courts consider for forum non convenius (ie inconvience that results in a dismissal or transfer)

Answer 21

first – understand these are applied with a presunption in favor for P’s choice of venue

Priviate intersts factors of the indiviudals – the parties residence, acess to proof, ect

Public interst factors – the distribution of cases, the courts familarity with the law

Question 22

Piper air craft key takeaway

In 1976, a plane made by Piper Aircraft Co. and Hartzell Propeller, Inc. crashed in Scotland, killing all on board. Gaynell Reyno, who was in charge of the passengers’ estates, sued Piper and Hartzell in California because the laws there were more helpful to her case. The case was moved to Pennsylvania, where Piper and Hartzell tried to get it dismissed because they thought it would be easier to have the case in Scotland.

Issue
The question is whether a person can stop a case from being moved just by showing that the laws in the new place are less helpful to them

Answer 22

A person can’t stop a case from being moved to a different place (called a ‘motion to dismiss on grounds of forum non conveniens’) just by showing that the laws in the new place are less helpful to them than the laws in the current place.

Question 23

what are the steps for forum non convenius used in the piper case and what were the gilbert factors in piper

Answer 23

Step One - ID some foreign country where the case should go forward - so here its somewhere in the UK
If you cant do even this, then you cant dismiss even if inconvenient
Step two- presumption in favor of P for choice in light of gilbert factors

private – fewer evidence problems would be posed if the trial were held in scottland

public- the amercian court interst in the accident was not sufficent to jusity the judical commitment on american courts

Question 24

what does 1404(a) say about transfer of venue?

Answer 24

(a) - ‘may’ = discretionary; judge doesn’t have to grant transfer; this discretion can be abused though
Discretionary
Same factors as gilbert, but its applied looser

Question 25

Is there any limitation on who can move to transfer venue? who must consent to the transfer of venue

Answer 25

No! P or D can do it
P and D both have to consent to the transfer

Question 26

what is the 1406(a) suitcase rule?

ie cure or waiver of defects

Answer 26

This is when improper venue was laid
Court only has two choices here and it MUST choose one or the other
‘Shall dismiss’ - obligatory; court does not have descrtion – it must dismiss the case OR if its in the interest of justice NOT CONVINCE, it must place the case in the proper venue

Question 27

atlantic martine construction – venue transfers and dismissals key takeaway – how did they apply the gilbert factors?

Atlantic Marine Construction Co. and J-Crew Management, Inc. made a contract to build a child-development center. They agreed that if they had any disagreements, they would solve them in a specific court in Virginia. But when J-Crew had a problem with Atlantic about payment, they sued them in a different court in Texas. Atlantic wanted the case to be moved to Virginia, but the Texas court said no.

issue: If people have agreed on a specific place to solve their disagreements in their contract, should the case be moved to that place unless there are very special reasons not related to what is easy for the people involved?

Answer 27

you USUSALLY cant contract around 1391 (venue)

When people agree on a specific place to solve their disagreements in their contract, the case should be moved to that place. This should happen unless there are very special reasons not related to what is easy for the people involved.

The forum selection clause isnt irrelevant though
The clause may be enforced through a motion to transfer under 1404!

Private interest is substantial via the forum selection clause
Parties interest factor – is keeping the case here gonna inconvenience one party?
Via the forum selection clause, the pirates AGREED that it would be inconvenient anywhere else OTHER than wher the forum selection clause said it would be!
Public interest factors – still considered
Don’t do much to outweigh private interest via forum selection clause