ELIAS GANEM, APPELLANT,
v.
HERLINDA GANEM DE ISSA, VICTORIA GANEM DE JACIR, SUSANA GANEM DE VIVEROS AND OLGA ANDRAUS VDA DE GANEM, APPELLEES
AI-generated. These summaries, headnotes, and key points are machine-generated and may contain errors or omissions. Always verify against the full opinion text below. Not legal advice.
Appellant, a defendant in a Florida action for accounting and damages, appealed the trial court's denial of his motion to dismiss based on forum non conveniens and non-interference in foreign business affairs. The Third District Court of Appeal affirmed the denial, holding that the defendant failed to meet his burden of showing that a more convenient forum existed and that he was a Florida resident.
The court affirmed the trial court's denial of the motion to dismiss, finding that the appellant failed to carry his burden of demonstrating that a more expedient forum was available or that prosecution in Dade County would be so impracticable or inconvenient as to deny him a fair trial. The court also rejected the non-interference doctrine as inapplicable to the facts presented.
“The general principle in Florida is that the doctrine of forum non conveniens is applicable when the cause of action arose in another jurisdiction, and in addition, neither party to that action resides in Florida.”
Establishes the two-part test for applying forum non conveniens in Florida
Previewing 1 of 3 key quotes on this case — the court’s exact language, pinpointed for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAppellees brought an action against appellant for accounting and damages based on alleged wrongful acts. Appellant moved to dismiss without supporting…
The full statement of facts, procedural history, and disposition for this case are member content.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence© FLexlaw, Inc. — AI-generated enrichments are proprietary. All rights reserved.
Explore caselaw by topic → Browse Forum Non Conveniens cases and more on FLexlaw
The appellant was the defendant below in an action brought by the numerous ap-pellees for an accounting and damages due to the alleged wrongful acts of the defendant. Appellant moved to dismiss the complaint, and as grounds for such motion, relied upon the doctrine of forum non con-veniens, and also the doctrine of non interference in the affairs of a foreign business entity. This motion was filed without supporting affidavits, and indicated that the *565defendant had filed a legal action against the plaintiffs in the country of Columbia about thirty-three days after the time he himself had been personally served in the instant law suit. In opposition to the defendant’s motion to dismiss on the grounds of forum non conveniens, the plaintiffs filed and served affidavits which tended to show that the litigation would not be impeded or inconvenienced by being prosecuted in Dade County, and that the defendant was a resident of Florida. The circuit court, in the exercise of its judicial discretion, denied the defendant’s motion to' dismiss, specifically rejecting the application of the doctrine of forum non conven-iens and the doctrine of non-interference in the internal affairs of a foreign business entity. The defendant has taken this interlocutory appeal from the above order.
The general principle in Florida is that the doctrine of forum non conveniens is applicable when the cause of action arose in another jurisdiction, and in addition, neither party to that action resides in Florida. Southern Railway Company v. McCubbins, Fla.App.1967, 196 So.2d 512; Atlantic Coast Line Railroad Co. v. Ganey, Fla.App.1961, 125 So.2d 576. In resisting the appellant’s motion to dismiss, the appel-lees submitted affidavits intended to demonstrate that the second requisite of the above doctrine was not present, i.e., that the defendant was in fact a resident of Florida. These affidavits included the findings of private investigators who were hired to locate the defendant, and the record does not reflect any evidence in opposition to this contention.
In order to prevail in his motion to dismiss, the defendant had to show that a more expedient forum for the action was available, and that prosecution of this law suit in the Dade County Circuit Court would be so impracticable or so inconvenient to the defendant as to deny him a fair trial. On the other hand, it was the burden of the plaintiff to demonstrate that the defendant was a resident of Florida, and hence not entitled to the above defense.
After viewing the record, we are not convinced that the appellant has carried his burden of showing that the trial court abused its discretion in determining that the doctrine of forum non conveniens did not apply. In determining the relative proof of the above factors, the trial judge appears to have acted without error in the exercise of his judicial discretion. Southern Railway Co. v. Bowling, Fla.App.1961, 129 So.2d 433.
We find no merit in appellant’s contention that the doctrine of non-interference in the affairs of a foreign business entity applied to the facts at bar. See Babcock v. Farwell, 245 Ill. 14, 91 N.E. 683.
Affirmed.
CHARLES CARROLL, Judge, concurs in the judgment.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By
-
Houston v. Caldwell, 359 So. 2d 858 (Fla. 1978)…ed and remanded for further proceedings consistent with this opinion. It is so ordered. ADKINS, Acting C. J., and BOYD, ENGLAND and SUNDBERG, JJ., concur. . Killingsworth v. Montgomery Ward & Co., 327 So. 2d 50 (Fla. 2nd DCA 1976); Ganem v. Issa, 225 So. 2d 564 (Fla. 3d DCA 1969); Adams v. Seaboard Coast Line Railroad Co., 224 So. 2d 797 (Fla. 1st DCA 1969); Atlantic Coast Line Railroad Co. v. Ganey, 125 So. 2d 576 (Fla. 3d DCA 1960). . Respondent’s insurance carrier, Aetna Insurance Company, is also a pa…
-
Ganem v. Herlinda Ganem de Issa, 269 So. 2d 740 (Fla. 3d DCA 1972)…he plaintiffs that the doctrine of the law of the case bars defendant from now contesting whether the Colombian business enterprises were the real parties in interest and indispensable parties. The first appeal, Ganem v. Ganem de Issa, Fla.App.1969, 225 So. 2d 564 fully litigated those issues, and both the trial court and this court resolved them adverse to defendant. We further agree with plaintiffs that the final judgment appealed was supported by substantial competent evidence. We do not need to determin…1 / 2
-
Houston v. Caldwell, 347 So. 2d 1041 (Fla. 4th DCA 1977)…hat the trial court is autho [*1045] rized to proceed to a determination of whether the criteria necessary to bring into play the doctrine of forum non con-veniens have been met. . . (Emphasis added.) (224 So. 2d at 801.) See also Ganem v. de Issa, 225 So. 2d 564 (Fla.3d DCA 1969); Southern Railway Company v. McCubbins, 196 So. 2d 512 (Fla.3d DCA 1967); Atlantic Coast Line Railroad Company v. Ganey, 125 So. 2d 576 (Fla.3d DCA 1960); Killingsworth v. Montgomery Ward & Company, 327 So. 2d 50 (Fla.2d DCA 1976);…1 / 2
Previewing 3 of 5 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited
- Atl. Coast Line R.R. Co. v. Ganey, 125 So. 2d 576 (Fla. 3d DCA 1960)
- S. Ry. Co. v. McCUBBINS, 196 So. 2d 512 (Fla. 3d DCA 1967)
- S. Ry. Co. v. Junior L. Bowling, 129 So. 2d 433 (Fla. 3d DCA 1961)