Huynh v. Chase Manhattan Bank, 04-56105.

• Decision Date: 28 September 2006
• Docket Number: No. 04-56105.,No. 05-55091.,04-56105.,05-55091.
• Citation: 465 F.3d 992
• Parties: Lien HUYNH; Voong Sy Phung, a/k/a Phung Sy Wong; Chun Huynh; Ngoc Bich Huynh; Dieu Minh Nu; Cong Ton; Phi Vu Hoang Nguyen; Tran Quang Tri, a/k/a Chris Tran, individually and on behalf of all persons similarly situated, Plaintiffs, and Tuoi Pham Foster, a/k/a Tuoi Thi Pham; Truong Dac Phung; Kim Thi Ton-Nu, a/k/a Ton Nu Thi Kien; Huy Le Thi Tran, a/k/a Julie Doan Tran; Nancy Le Nguyen, a/k/a Nga Thi Le; Huan Tran Dang; Dinh Vu Nguyen; Toa-Anh Thi Nguyen; Bich-Dao Thi Ho; Hong-Duc Thai Van; Tai Dinh Nguyen; Thuong Van Nguyen; Van Cam T. Nguyen; Nguyen Thi Ri; Phung Thi Nguyen; Thach Thi Pham; Gerardus Fernandez; Hong T. Fernandez; Xua Thi Duong; Dien T. Nguyen; Vivian Nguyen Dang, individually and on behalf of all persons similarly situated, Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. CHASE MANHATTAN BANK, a New York corporation; Citigroup Inc., a Delaware corporation f/k/a First National City Bank, Defendants-Appellees, and Bank Of America Corporation, a Delaware corporation, Defendant. Lien Huynh; Voong Sy Phung, a/k/a Phung Sy Wong; Chun Huynh; Dieu Minh Nu; Cong Ton; Phi Vu Hoang Nguyen; Tran Quang Tri, a/k/a Chris Tran, individually and on behalf of all persons similarly situated; Tuoi Pham Foster, a/k/a Tuoi Thi Pham; Truong Dac Phung; Kim Thi Ton-Nu, a/k/a Ton Nu Thi Kien; Huy Le Thi Tran, a/k/a Julie Doan Tran; Nancy Le Nguyen, a/k/a Nga Thi Le; Huan Tran Dang; Dinh Vu Nguyen; Toa-Anh Thi Nguyen; Bich-Dao Thi Ho; Hong-Duc Thai Van; Tai Dinh Nguyen; Thuong Van Nguyen; Van Cam T. Nguyen; Nguyen Thi Ri; Phung Thi Nguyen; Thach Thi Pham; Gerardus Fernandez; Hong T. Fernandez; Xua Thi Duong; Dien T. Nguyen; Vivian Nguyen Dang, individually and on behalf of all persons similarly situated, Plaintiffs, and Ngoc Bich Huynh, individually and on behalf of all persons similarly situated, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. Chase Manhattan Bank, a New York corporation; Citigroup Inc., a Delaware corporation f/k/a First National City Bank, Defendants, and Bank of America Corporation, a Delaware corporation; Chiao Tung Bank Co., a Republic of China corporation, f/k/a Bank of Communications, Defendants-Appellees.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Ninth Circuit

465 F.3d 992

Lien HUYNH; Voong Sy Phung, a/k/a Phung Sy Wong; Chun Huynh; Ngoc Bich Huynh; Dieu Minh Nu; Cong Ton; Phi Vu Hoang Nguyen; Tran Quang Tri, a/k/a Chris Tran, individually and on behalf of all persons similarly situated, Plaintiffs, and Tuoi Pham Foster, a/k/a Tuoi Thi Pham; Truong Dac Phung; Kim Thi Ton-Nu, a/k/a Ton Nu Thi Kien; Huy Le Thi Tran, a/k/a Julie Doan Tran; Nancy Le Nguyen, a/k/a Nga Thi Le; Huan Tran Dang; Dinh Vu Nguyen; Toa-Anh Thi Nguyen; Bich-Dao Thi Ho; Hong-Duc Thai Van; Tai Dinh Nguyen; Thuong Van Nguyen; Van Cam T. Nguyen; Nguyen Thi Ri; Phung Thi Nguyen; Thach Thi Pham; Gerardus Fernandez; Hong T. Fernandez; Xua Thi Duong; Dien T. Nguyen; Vivian Nguyen Dang, individually and on behalf of all persons similarly situated, Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. CHASE MANHATTAN BANK, a New York corporation; Citigroup Inc., a Delaware corporation f/k/a First National City Bank, Defendants-Appellees, and Bank Of America Corporation, a Delaware corporation, Defendant Lien Huynh; Voong Sy Phung, a/k/a Phung Sy Wong; Chun Huynh; Dieu Minh Nu; Cong Ton; Phi Vu Hoang Nguyen; Tran Quang Tri, a/k/a Chris Tran, individually and on behalf of all persons similarly situated; Tuoi Pham Foster, a/k/a Tuoi Thi Pham; Truong Dac Phung; Kim Thi Ton-Nu, a/k/a Ton Nu Thi Kien; Huy Le Thi Tran, a/k/a Julie Doan Tran; Nancy Le Nguyen, a/k/a Nga Thi Le; Huan Tran Dang; Dinh Vu Nguyen; Toa-Anh Thi Nguyen; Bich-Dao Thi Ho; Hong-Duc Thai Van; Tai Dinh Nguyen; Thuong Van Nguyen; Van Cam T. Nguyen; Nguyen Thi Ri; Phung Thi Nguyen; Thach Thi Pham; Gerardus Fernandez; Hong T. Fernandez; Xua Thi Duong; Dien T. Nguyen; Vivian Nguyen Dang, individually and on behalf of all persons similarly situated, Plaintiffs, and Ngoc Bich Huynh, individually and on behalf of all persons similarly situated, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. Chase Manhattan Bank, a New York corporation; Citigroup Inc., a Delaware corporation f/k/a First National City Bank, Defendants, and Bank of America Corporation, a Delaware corporation; Chiao Tung Bank Co., a Republic of China corporation, f/k/a Bank of Communications, Defendants-Appellees.

No. 04-56105.

No. 05-55091.

United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit.

Argued and Submitted April 3, 2006.

Filed September 28, 2006.

Federico C. Sayre, Mark S. Brown, Law Offices of Federico C. Sayre, Santa Ana, CA; Thu-Cuc T. Phung, Westminster, CA; Bicvan Thi Brown, New Port Beach, CA, for the plaintiffs-appellants.

Richard B. Kendall, Melissa R. McCormick, Irell & Manella, LLP, Los Angeles, CA, for defendants-appellees The Chase Manhattan Bank and Citigroup, N.A. Angela L. Padilla, Robert S. Stern, Morrison & Foerster, LLP, Los Angeles, CA, for defendant-appellee Chiao Tung Bank Co.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Central District of California; Terry J. Hatter, Chief District Judge, Presiding. D.C. No. CV-03-07748-TJH.

Before D.W. NELSON and O'SCANNLAIN, Circuit Judges, and ROBERT C. JONES,^* District Judge.

D.W. NELSON, Senior Circuit Judge.

Proposed class representatives of Vietnamese bank depositors seek to recover the dollar value of bank deposits made in Saigon, South Vietnam, before April 1975. On appeal, they challenge the district court's orders dismissing as time-barred their complaint against Citibank, N.A. (Citibank), The Chase Manhattan Bank (Chase), and Chiao Tung Bank (Chiao Tung). We have jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1291 and affirm, discussing many of the heretofore unaddressed issues raised by this case.

I

After several years of conflict, Saigon, the capital of the Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam), was surrendered unconditionally to the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (North Vietnam) on April 30, 1975. The history of these events has been chronicled elsewhere by the federal courts. See, e.g., Trinh v. Citibank, N.A., 850 F.2d 1164, 1165-66 (6th Cir.1988); Vishipco Line v. Chase Manhattan Bank, N.A., 660 F.2d 854, 857-58 (2d Cir.1981). Thus, it suffices to mention here that, during the unrest immediately preceding the regime change, several foreign banks closed the branches they had been operating in Saigon.

Lien Huynh, Tuoi Pham Foster, and other proposed class members (Appellants) allege that, at the time of these unannounced closures, each proposed class representative had South Vietnamese piastres on deposit at the Saigon branch of a foreign bank. The alleged balance of each named plaintiff's account as of April 1975 ranges from $226.16 to $20,073.68 (at an exchange rate of 755 piastres to the dollar).

Some twenty-eight years later, on September 26, 2003, Appellants filed their first amended complaint¹ in Los Angeles County Superior Court seeking to recover the dollar value of their piastre-denominated bank deposits from seven non-Vietnamese banks. Among those banks were the three banks party to the instant appeal: Citibank, and Chase, both U.S.-chartered banking corporations headquartered in New York, as well as Chiao Tung, a Taiwanese banking corporation.

Citibank removed the case to federal court on October 29, 2003. Before the district court, Citibank and Chase jointly moved to dismiss the complaint pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6), claiming that the action was time-barred by the New York statute of limitations governing claims arising from contract and fraud. Separately, Chiao Tung moved to dismiss the complaint as barred by the statute of limitations under California, Vietnamese, and Taiwanese law. In support of its motion, Chiao Tung requested that the district court take judicial notice of the statutes of limitations in both Taiwan and Vietnam, providing declarations in support thereof. No other evidence of foreign law was offered before the district court.

The district court granted both motions, and this timely appeal followed.

II

The case before us presents an intertwined issue of statute of limitations and choice of law questions, which we review de novo. See Oja v. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, 440 F.3d 1122, 1127 (9th Cir.2006) (statute of limitations questions); Jorgensen v. Cassiday, 320 F.3d 906, 913 (9th Cir.2003) (choice of law). Accepting as true the allegations in the complaint, as we must when reviewing a motion to dismiss under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6), Mir v. Little Co. of Mary Hosp., 844 F.2d 646, 649 (9th Cir.1988), we must determine whether "the running of the statute is apparent on the face of the complaint." Jablon v. Dean Witter & Co., 614 F.2d 677, 682 (9th Cir. 1980); see also Supermail Cargo, Inc. v. United States, 68 F.3d 1204, 1206 (9th Cir.1995) ("[A] complaint cannot be dismissed unless it appears beyond doubt that the plaintiff can prove no set of facts that would establish the timeliness of the claim.").

Addressing a similar question in Cruz v. United States, 387 F.Supp.2d 1057 (N.D.Cal.2005), the district court adopted the following analytical framework:

First, the Court must decide what choice-of-law rule governs the selection of the statute of limitations. Second, the Court must apply that rule to determine which jurisdiction's limitations law applies. Third, and finally, the Court [must] determine whether plaintiffs' claims fall within the relevant limitations period.

Id. at 1070. We endorse and apply this approach.

Chase removed this action to federal court pursuant to 12 U.S.C. § 632, which invests in the federal courts original jurisdiction over cases arising out of foreign banking transactions to which a U.S. corporation is a party. Therefore, our jurisdiction is not based on diversity of citizenship. In this context, federal common law choice-of-law rules apply. See Chuidian v. Philippine Nat'l Bank, 976 F.2d 561, 564 (9th Cir.1992) (holding that, where jurisdiction is not premised on diversity of citizenship, federal common law governs); Schoenberg v. Exportadora de Sal, S.A. de C.V., 930 F.2d 777, 782 (9th Cir.1991) (same).

Federal common law follows the approach outlined in the Restatement (Second) of Conflict of Laws. Id. Accordingly, barring exceptional circumstances, we consider the following factors:

(1) The forum will apply its own statute of limitations barring the claim.

(2) The forum will apply its own statute of limitations permitting the claim unless:

(a) maintenance of the claim would serve no substantial interest of the forum; and

(b) the claim would be barred under the statute of limitations of a state having a more significant relationship to the parties and the occurrence.

Restatement (Second) of Conflicts of Law § 142 (1988). The formulation of this rule is intended to reflect the general choice-of-law principles stated in Restatement (Second) of Conflicts of Law § 6. See Restatement (Second) of Conflicts of Law § 142.

A

Applying § 142, we must first consider whether applicable California law—the forum state—bars Appellants' claims. We conclude that California law does not bar Appellants' claims against Citibank or Chase, but it does bar the claims against Chiao Tung.

Under the California Code of Civil Procedure there is no time limitation on an action brought to recover bank deposits. Cal.Civ.Proc.Code § 348.² However, a borrowing statute limits that broad rule where, as here, the circumstances giving rise to the cause of action occurred outside of the state:

When a cause of action has arisen ... in a foreign country, and by the laws thereof an action thereon cannot there be maintained against a person by reason of the lapse of time, an action thereon shall not be maintained against him in this State. ...

Cal.Civ.Proc.Code § 361. California's borrowing statute, in turn, includes an exception providing that, if one is a "citizen of th[e] State" who has held the cause of action since it accrued, § 361 will not prevent his or her claim. Cal.Civ.Proc.Code § 361.

Appellants' complaint indicates that most named plaintiffs are "residents" of California. Therefore, reading the complaint with the required liberality, see Jablon, 614 F.2d at...