Cortez v. Palace Resorts, Inc.

• Decision Date: 01 October 2013
• Docket Number: No. SC11–1908.,SC11–1908.
• Parties: Shahla M. Rabie CORTEZ, Petitioner, v. PALACE RESORTS, INC., et al., Respondents.
• Court: Florida Supreme Court

123 So.3d 1085

Shahla M. Rabie CORTEZ, Petitioner,

v.PALACE RESORTS, INC., et al., Respondents.

No. SC11–1908.

Supreme Court of Florida.

June 20, 2013.

Rehearing Denied Oct. 1, 2013.

Michael Diaz, Jr., Carlos F. Gonzalez, Gary E. Davidson, and Xingjian Zhao of Diaz, Reus & Targ, LLP, Miami, FL, for Petitioner.

Ricardo J. Cata and Ronnie Guillen of Wilson, Elser, Moskowitz, Edelman & Dicker LLP, Miami, FL, for Respondent.

Joel S. Perwin, Miami, FL, for Amicus Curiae The Florida Justice Association.

Catherine B. Chapman of Guilday, Tucker, Schwartz & Simpson, P.A., Tallahassee, FL, for Amicus Curiae The Florida Defense Lawyers Association, Inc.

PARIENTE, J.

The underlying question in this case is whether the forum non conveniens doctrine was erroneously applied to force a United States citizen to litigate her negligence action in Mexico, when her lawsuit was filed against a corporation with its primary place of business in Florida and where the allegations of the complaint relate to an incident that took place in Mexico but center on conduct occurring in Florida. In Rabie Cortez v. Palace Holdings, S.A. de C.V., 66 So.3d 959, 963–64 (Fla. 3d DCA 2011), the Third District Court of Appeal approved the dismissal of the plaintiff's lawsuit in Florida, concluding that Mexico was an adequate alternative forum and reasoning that the plaintiff's initial selection of a Florida forum was not entitled to a strong presumption of deference because she is a California resident. We have jurisdiction on the basis that the Third District's decision expressly conflicts with and misapplies this Court's decision in Kinney System, Inc. v. Continental Insurance Co., 674 So.2d 86 (Fla.1996). Seeart. V, § 3(b)(3), Fla. Const.; see also Knowles v. State, 848 So.2d 1055, 1056 (Fla.2003) (stating that misapplication of a supreme court decision creates conflict jurisdiction).¹

As more fully explained below, we conclude that the Third District's analysis was flawed in two ways. First, the Third District misstated a rule of law from, and misapplied, Kinney by finding that the plaintiff, by virtue of her out-of-state residence, was not entitled to the strong presumption in the forum non conveniens analysis against disturbing the plaintiff's initial choice of forum. Second, the Third District also erred, as fully explained in Judge Rothenberg's dissent, by failing to focus on the fact that although this lawsuit involves an assault that occurred in Mexico, the allegations of negligence in this case derive from conduct in Florida by defendants with their primary place of business in Florida.

By misapplying the forum non conveniens analysis, and particularly by failing to afford a strong presumption in favor of the plaintiff's initial choice of an otherwise proper forum, the Third District's decision results in a situation where a United States citizen is forced to litigate in a foreign country, imposing a substantial burden on her without a showing that it would be burdensome for the Florida-based defendants to defend the lawsuit in Florida. For the reasons that follow, we therefore hold that the Third District erred in affirming the trial court's dismissal of this lawsuit on forum non conveniens grounds and requiring the plaintiff to file suit in Mexico. Accordingly, we quash the Third District's decision.

FACTS AND BACKGROUND

The allegations, which we must accept as true for the purpose of a motion to dismiss,² state that the Petitioner, Shahla M. Rabie Cortez (“Rabie Cortez”), was sexually assaulted by a male masseur during a complimentary massage at the Moon Palace Golf and Spa Resort in Cancun, Mexico, where she was vacationing with her family. Rabie Cortez, who is a California resident, was provided with the complimentary massage as part of the benefits she received in exchange for her attendance at a timeshare presentation offered by the resort. Rabie Cortez alleged that these benefits, including the massage, were part of a “timeshare-marketing scheme” and filed suit against the “designers” of her vacation package, including several corporations based in Miami, Florida, stating that the companies' goal of enticing vacationers such as herself to travel to the Mexican resort was in actuality “to lure [the travelers] into a fine-tuned sales program for timeshares.”

Rabie Cortez filed her lawsuit in Miami–Dade County circuit court and, after voluntarily dismissing several claims, ultimately sued three defendants based on an allegation of negligent vacation packaging: Palace Resorts, Inc.; Palace Resorts, LLC; and Tradco, Ltd., Inc. (collectively, as they referred to themselves in this litigation, “the Florida Defendants”). ³

All three of the Florida Defendants have their principal place of business at the same Miami, Florida, address. Palace Resorts, Inc., in particular, “is in the business of promoting, selling and marketing the Palace Resorts in Cancun, Mexico, including the Moon Palace Golf and Spa Resort,” where Rabie Cortez was assaulted. Rabie Cortez alleged that the Florida Defendants control and manage their marketing and vacation package design operations, including marketing and planning for the Moon Palace Resort where she was assaulted, at their Miami headquarters. She further alleged that the Florida Defendants keep records and respond to customer complaints from their Miami offices.

In response to Rabie Cortez's lawsuit, the Florida Defendants filed a motion to dismiss based on forum non conveniens, arguing that Mexico would be a more convenient forum for litigating the case.⁴ The trial court granted the motion, finding that Rabie Cortez's allegations were based on “events that occurred entirely in Mexico” and that her choice of a Florida forum was “given less deference” because she is a California resident who has “no apparent contacts with Florida.”

On appeal, the Third District upheld the trial court's dismissal of Rabie Cortez's lawsuit on forum non conveniens grounds, reasoning that “based on the test set forth [by this Court] in Kinney, Mexico is a more convenient forum to litigate the lawsuit than Florida.” Rabie Cortez, 66 So.3d at 961. Citing Kinney, the Third District recognized that there is a strong presumption against disturbing a plaintiff's initial choice of forum, but stated that the presumption “is given less deference when, as here, the plaintiff is an out-of-state resident with very little, if any, contact with Florida.” Id. at 962–63. Because Rabie Cortez chose to file suit in Florida, “a forum that is not her residence,” the Third District stated, “she is not entitled to a strong presumption in favor of Florida as her initial forum choice.” Id. at 963. Accordingly, the Third District held that “[w]ithout this strong presumption,” the forum non conveniens test “clearly favor[ed] dismissal and resolution [of this lawsuit] in a Mexican forum.” Id.

In dissent, Judge Rothenberg criticized the Third District majority for failing to afford proper deference to Rabie Cortez's choice of forum and for misapplying the Kinney factors to the facts of this case. Id. at 964 (Rothenberg, J., dissenting). The dissent highlighted that—contrary to the Florida Defendants' original assertions that they lacked a connection with Florida and with this case—Miami, Florida, is the “operational, managerial, and marketing center for the entire Palace Resorts group.” Id. at 965. Specifically, Judge Rothenberg observed as follows:

[T]he Florida Defendants control: marketing; sales to individuals, groups, and travel agents; timeshare programs; customer service; press relations; and finance for the entire Palace Resorts Group. The Florida Defendants manage the entire U.S. market, which represents seventy percent of Palace Resorts' business; the president of most of the Palace companies lives and works in Miami; and the Florida Defendants employ nearly one hundred employees in Miami. More importantly, the plaintiff alleges that: customer complaints are investigated by the Florida Defendants at their Miami corporate headquarters; the Florida Defendants issue refunds to unhappy customers, design vacation packages for all the Palace Resort hotels, approve all marketing literature, manage hotel websites, and issue all press releases at their Miami headquarters; and their Miami headquarters is the record-keeping center for the Mexican Palace Resorts hotels.

Id. at 965–66 (emphasis added). The dissent contended that it was error for the trial court to treat Rabie Cortez as a foreign plaintiff because of her California residence; that keeping this case in Florida would not cause manifest injustice to the Florida Defendants; that Florida has an interest in ensuring that harmful actions originating in Florida are properly addressed in Florida courts; and that Rabie Cortez's choice of forum was owed great deference. Id. at 969–72.

Rabie Cortez sought this Court's review, asserting that the Third District incorrectly applied the Kinney factors and failed to properly acknowledge the strong presumption of deference required by Kinney against disturbing her choice of a Florida forum. We first set forth a full explanation of Florida's forum non conveniens test, and then turn to a closer examination of the deference owed to a plaintiff's initial choice of forum. With these principles in place, we address the Third District's application of the forum non conveniens factors in this case.

ANALYSIS

We begin with a review of the forum non conveniens doctrine in Florida and clarify the test to be applied by Florida trial courts engaging in a forum non conveniens inquiry.

I. Forum Non Conveniens: The Four Factors

The common law doctrine of forum non conveniens, which translates to mean “inconvenient forum,” is an equitable, judicially crafted rule designed to allow a court to dismiss, in certain limited circumstances, a lawsuit with little connection to Florida that would be better suited and fairly litigated elsewhere. See Kinney, 674 So.2d at 87...