IBEROAMERICAN ELECTRONICS, S.R.L., APPELLANT,
v.
MOORE BUSINESS FORMS, INC., ET AL., APPELLEES
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Iberoamerican Electronics appealed a forum non conveniens dismissal to Brazil, arguing the trial court should have imposed additional conditions including a waiver of foreign procedural bars. The Third District affirmed the dismissal, holding that the two conditions imposed (consent to suit in Brazil and tolling of statute of limitations) were sufficient and that requiring waiver of procedural bars would improperly incentivize forum shopping.
The trial court properly dismissed on forum non conveniens grounds without imposing the additional condition. The two conditions already imposed—consent to suit in Brazil and tolling of the statute of limitations—were sufficient to protect the parties' interests and comported with Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.061.
[1] A trial court may dismiss an action based on forum non conveniens.
[2] A forum non conveniens dismissal may be conditioned on defendants consenting to suit in the alternative forum and accepting service of process there.
Previewing 2 of 4 headnotes on this case. FLexlaw’s editorially structured points of law — every proposition, pinpointed — are reserved for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“Requiring defendants to waive any foreign procedural bars of the new forum could have the effect of enticing plaintiffs to file suit in Florida, i.e., in an attempt to avoid such bars, plaintiffs could file suit here, be dismissed out, then return to the foreign forum holding a waiver exacted as a condition for the dismissal.”
Explains the court's reasoning for rejecting the requested condition—it would create improper incentives for forum shopping
Previewing 1 of 3 key quotes on this case — the court’s exact language, pinpointed for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceIberoamerican Electronics filed suit in Florida against Moore Business Forms and other defendants. The trial court granted a forum non conveniens dism…
The full statement of facts, procedural history, and disposition for this case are member content.
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FLETCHER, Judge.
Plaintiff, Iberoamerican Electronics, S.R.L. [Iberoamerican], appeals a dismissal order based on forum non conveniens, contending that the trial court erred in not conditioning the dismissal on certain stipulations. We affirm the dismissal, finding that the trial court appropriately declined to attach Iberoamerican’s requested conditions.
Although the dismissal order preceded the decision in Kinney System, Inc. v. Continental Insurance Co., 674 So. 2d 86, 93-94 (Fla.1996), the trial court sufficiently protected the interests of the parties by attaching two conditions: (1) that all defendants consent to suit in Brazil and accept service of process in Brazil in a civil action brought by Iberoamer-ican to resolve the dispute, and (2) that all defendants agree to toll any applicable statute of limitations for the period from the filing of the complaint until ninety (90) days after the order of dismissal. These conditions are similar to the requirements of Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.061 that (1) “[i]n moving for forum non conveniens dismissal, defendants shall be deemed to automatically stipulate that the action will be treated in the new forum as though it had been filed in that forum on the date it was filed in Florida, with service of process ac- eepted as of that date,” and (2) “plaintiffs shall automatically be deemed to stipulate that they mil lose the benefit of all stipulations made by the defendant ... if plaintiffs fail to file the action in the new forum within 120 days after the date the Florida dismissal becomes final.”
However, Iberoameriean contends that the trial court erred in failing to attach to the dismissal order a condition that the defendants waive any procedural bars in the new forum. With this we cannot agree. Requiring defendants to waive any foreign procedural bars of the new forum could have the effect of enticing plaintiffs to file suit in Florida, i.e., in an attempt to avoid such bars, plaintiffs could file suit here, be dismissed out, then return to the foreign forum holding a waiver exacted as a condition for the dismissal. In the fashion of zombies rising from the Florida soil, dead suits would be resurrected to return and walk their homeland courts. While this might please tardy litigants, mandating such a condition would cause more inappropriate suits to be filed in Florida — a result the Supreme Court intended to avoid by its holding in Kinney.
We have reviewed the other matters raised by Iberoameriean and find them to be without merit. Accordingly, the dismissal order is affirmed.
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Elena Laura Pessino Gomez Del Campo Bacardi v. Elena Gomez Del Campo Bacardi De Lindzon, 728 So. 2d 309 (Fla. 3d DCA 1999)…diction an inadequate forum. See Blanco v. Banco Indus. de Venezuela, S.A., 997 F. 2d 974, 982 (2d Cir.1993); Carnival Cruise Lines, Inc. v. Oy Wartsila Ab, 159 B.R. 984, 991 (S.D.Fla.1993). Cf. Iberoamerican Elec., S.R.L. v. Moore Bus. Forms, Inc., 679 So. 2d 295 (Fla. 3d DCA 1996)(waiver of foreign procedural bars may not be exacted as a condition for dismissal). Finally, as stated in Pearl Cruises v. Bestor, 678 So. 2d at 373, “if the plaintiff[ ] find[s] the [alternative] forum unattractive, [she is] free…
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Moore Bus. Forms, Inc. v. Iberoamerican Elecs., 698 So. 2d 611 (Fla. 3d DCA 1997)…the trial court’s separate dismissal of Ibero’s civil theft and conversion claims for failure to state a cause of action was mooted by the dismissal of the case for forum non conveniens. In Iberoamerican Elecs., S.R.L. v. Moore Business Forms, Inc., 679 So. 2d 295 (Fla. 3d DCA 1996), this court affirmed both rulings. Moore then moved in the trial court for attorneys’ fees pursuant to Florida’s civil theft statute, section 772.11, Florida Statutes (1995),2 arguing that Ibero’s civil theft claim had been broug…
Authorities Cited
- Kinney Sys., Inc. v. The Cont'l Ins. Co., 674 So. 2d 86 (Fla. 1996)