Bridgestone/Firestone v. Garcia
| Decision Date | 06 August 2008 |
| Docket Number | No. 4D07-1797,,No. 4D07-1793.,No. 4D07-2515.,No. 4D07-2600.,No. 4D07-1796.,4D07-1793.,4D07-1796.,4D07-1797,,4D07-2515.,4D07-2600. |
| Citation | 991 So.2d 912 |
| Parties | BRIDGESTONE/FIRESTONE NORTH AMERICAN TIRE, LLC, Appellant, v. Hortensia Palmira GARCIA, as personal representative of the Estate of Antonio Sanchez Rodriguez and on behalf of all his survivors including Sergio Ruben Sanchez, Christian Marcelo Sanchez, Jose Osvaldo Sanchez Garcia, and the minor Rodrigo Antonio Sanchez Baez, represented by his mother Mirta Susana Baez, and Carlos Dario Santiso, individually and as personal representative of the Estate of Maria Cecilia Rocca, et al., Appellees. TRW Vehicle Safety Systems, Inc., TRW Automotive U.S. LLC, and TRW Canada Limited, Appellants, v. Carlos Dario Santiso, individually and as personal representative of the Estate of Maria Cecilia Rocca, et al., Appellees. Ford Motor Company, a foreign corporation, Appellant, v. Hortensia Palmira Garcia, as personal representative of the Estate of Antonio Sanchez Rodriguez and on behalf of all his survivors including Sergio Ruben Sanchez, Christian Marcelo Sanchez, Jose Osvaldo Sanchez Garcia, and the minor Rodrigo Antonio Sanchez Baez, represented by his mother Mirta Susana Baez, and Carlos Dario Santiso, individually and as personal representative of the Estate of Maria Cecilia Rocca, et al., Appellees. Bridgestone/Firestone North American Tire, LLC, Appellant, v. Anibal Oscar Papandopoles, as Personal Representative for the Estate of Teresa Ivanoff; Estela Noemi Ivanovik, individually; Ruben Omar Papandopoles, individually; Roxana Fan, individually; Rebeca Papandopoles, a minor by and through her parents Ruben Omar Papandopoles and Roxana Fan; Antonella Papandopoles, a minor by and through her parents, Ruben Omar Papandopoles and Roxana Fan; Brenda Papandopoles, a minor by and through her parents, Ruben Omar Papandopoles and Roxana Fan; and Javier Mauricio Papandopoles, as Personal Representative of the Estate of Daiana Elizabeth Papadopoulos, Appellees. |
| Court | Florida District Court of Appeals |
Christopher N. Bellows, Rebecca M. Plasencia and Leon Fresco of Holland & Knight LLP, Miami, for appellant Bridgestone/Firestone North American Tire, LLC.
Guy E. Motzer and Sarah L. Shullman of Squire, Sanders & Dempsey, L.L.P., West Palm Beach, for appellants TRW Vehicle Safety Systems, Inc., TRW Automotive U.S. LLC, and TRW Canada Limited.
Alina Alonso and Wendy Lumish of Carlton Fields, P.A., Miami, for appellant Ford Motor Company, a foreign corporation.
Philip M. Burlington of Burlington & Rockenbach, P.A., West Palm Beach, and John J. Uustal of Kelley Uustal, PLC, Fort Lauderdale, for appellees.
The issue in these cases is whether the trial court erred in denying appellants' motions to dismiss on forum non conveniens grounds filed in four separate cases brought by appellees.1 We affirm because we conclude that the trial court did not abuse its discretion in finding that Argentina is an inadequate and unavailable alternative forum under the facts of this case.
Appellees, citizens of Argentina, filed complaints against appellants, Ford Motor Company and Bridgestone/Firestone North American Tire, LLC, arising out of four automobile accidents in Argentina, involving 1998 or 1999 Ford Explorers with Firestone tires as standard equipment. In each accident, a rollover occurred, resulting in 8 deaths and 12 persons injured, out of a total of 20 occupants. Appellees asserted products liability theories, including that the Ford Explorers had a propensity to roll over and were not crashworthy, and that the Firestone tires were defective and had a tendency to fail, thereby triggering rollover accidents. Three of the cases also named appellants, TRW Vehicle Safety Systems, Inc., TRW Automotive U.S. LLC, and TRW Canada Limited (collectively "TRW") as defendants, based on allegations that TRW had manufactured the seat belt restraint devices in the vehicles, which were defective, and contributed to the occupants' deaths or injuries. Two of the cases pleaded claims under section 69.081, Florida Statutes, commonly known as Florida's Sunshine in Litigation Act.
These four cases were consolidated below with Nowell, a case filed in 2003, which also involved a Ford Explorer rollover in Argentina, but did not name Firestone as a defendant. Appellants filed motions to dismiss on forum non conveniens grounds in each case, arguing that the cases should be dismissed in favor of Argentina or Michigan. In Nowell, Judge Leonard Fleet denied the motion. This court per curiam affirmed.2 See Ford Motor Co. v. Nowell, 896 So.2d 768 (Fla. 4th DCA 2005) (table). Judge Fleet also denied the motions to dismiss on forum non conveniens grounds filed by the defendants in the Papandopoles and Yampa cases. This court reversed and remanded, finding that the trial court failed to conduct an adequate forum non conveniens analysis pursuant to Kinney System, Inc. v. Continental Insurance Co., 674 So.2d 86 (Fla.1996). See TRW Automotive U.S., LLC v. Papandopoles, 949 So.2d 297 (Fla. 4th DCA 2007).
In Kinney, our supreme court explained the four-step analysis a court must engage in when reviewing a forum non conveniens motion:
[1] As a prerequisite, the court must establish whether an adequate alternative forum exists which possesses jurisdiction over the whole case. [2] Next, the trial judge must consider all relevant factors of private interest, weighing in the balance a strong presumption against disturbing plaintiffs' initial forum choice. [3] If the trial judge finds this balance of private interests in equipoise or near equipoise, he must then determine whether or not factors of public interest tip the balance in favor of a trial in [another] forum. [4] If he decides that the balance favors such a . . . forum, the trial judge must finally ensure that plaintiffs can reinstate their suit in the alternative forum without undue inconvenience or prejudice.
674 So.2d at 90 (emphasis in original) (quoting Pain v. United Techs. Corp., 637 F.2d 775 (D.C.Cir.1980), cert. denied, 454 U.S. 1128, 102 S.Ct. 980, 71 L.Ed.2d 116 (1981)).
On remand, the consolidated cases were reassigned to Judge Ronald Rothschild. At that time, the trial court heard the forum non conveniens motions filed in the Sanchez and Santiso cases, and entered an order denying the motions. The trial court concluded, inter alia, that the Argentine courts do not afford an available or adequate forum. Subsequently, the trial court heard the forum non conveniens motions in Papandopoles and Yampa, on remand from this court. The trial court again denied the motions. The order noted that the TRW defendants had settled with the plaintiffs in Papandopoles, and that Firestone had settled with the plaintiffs in Yampa; thereby rendering TRW and Firestone's motions in those cases moot. The order also noted that because TRW was never a party in the Yampa case, there was no longer an issue regarding whether Michigan was an appropriate forum in either Papandopoles or Yampa.3
Appellants filed non-final appeals from the two orders issued in the four cases, arguing that the trial court erred in denying their motions to dismiss on forum non conveniens grounds because the four-step Kinney analysis compels dismissal of the lawsuits. We disagree, but reach only the first step of the Kinney test because we find that the trial court's conclusion that Argentina is not an available or adequate forum was not unreasonable.
In Kinney, our supreme court codified its holding in Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.061, which provides in part: "The decision to grant or deny the motion for dismissal rests in the sound discretion of the trial court, subject to review for abuse of discretion." Fla. R. Civ. P. 1.061; Kinney, 674 So.2d at 94. Although we acknowledge that the presumption of correctness given to a trial court's rulings is lessened where, as here, the trial court's findings are based on affidavits rather than live testimony, see Woods v. Nova Cos. Belize Ltd., 739 So.2d 617, 621 (Fla. 4th DCA 1999) (citing Ciba-Geigy Ltd. v. Fish Peddler, Inc., 691 So.2d 1111, 1118 (Fla. 4th DCA 1997)), we still give substantial deference to the trial court's decision, where its balancing of the Kinney factors is reasonable. See Piper Aircraft Co. v. Reyno, 454 U.S. 235, 257, 102 S.Ct. 252, 266, 70 L.Ed.2d 419 (1981) (citations omitted) (relied on in Kinney). This is particularly true in the instant case, where the trial court was in the unique position of having already tried Nowell, a nearly identical case.
A defendant seeking dismissal on forum non conveniens grounds bears the burden of persuasion as to each Kinney factor. Carenza v. Sun Int'l Hotels, Ltd., 699 So.2d 830, 832 (Fla. 4th DCA 1997) (citing Camejo v. Ocean Drilling & Exploration, 838 F.2d 1374 (5th Cir.1988)). The first factor the court must analyze is whether there is an available adequate alternative forum which possesses jurisdiction over the whole case. Kinney, 674 So.2d at 90. The test for this factor is a two-step process for determining both availability and adequacy. Ciba-Geigy Ltd., 691 So.2d at 1115 (citations omitted).
The availability requirement is met when the defendant seeking dismissal establishes that the foreign court can assert jurisdiction over the litigation sought to be transferred. Id. "Ordinarily, this requirement will be satisfied when the defendant is `amenable to process' in the other jurisdiction." Kinney, 674 So.2d at 90 (citation omitted). Appellants submitted affidavits of Argentine law experts opining: (1) foreign defendants who are not domiciled in Argentina are subject to service of process in their place of domicile; (2) Argentine courts have jurisdiction over foreign citizens or corporations regarding claims against foreign manufacturers of component parts that have been sold in Argentina, and damages caused in Argentina; and (3) Argentine law allows defendants to...
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