Jurisdiction – Forum non conveniens

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Where a plaintiff has alleged (1) that the defendants made false statements in Canada suggesting that the defendant was facing criminal charges in Mongolia and (2) that these statements were published in the United States, causing significant harm to the plaintiff’s reputation and business prospects, the case should not be transferred to an alternative forum in Canada or Mongolia.

“Defendants argue that [plaintiff Daniel P.] Neelon’s choice to litigate in Massachusetts — his home forum — should not be given a presumption of convenience because he has previously filed parallel claims against the same defendants in Canada and the Central District of California. According to Defendants, Massachusetts was Neelon’s third choice of forum, and therefore is undeserving of any favorable presumption. …

“… Serial litigation that is no longer proceeding must necessarily have no greater relevance to the determination of a forum’s convenience than concurrent litigation occurring at the same time as the case in question. Accordingly, because concurrent litigation is not relevant to determining the forums’ relative convenience, the court finds that serial litigation is similarly irrelevant and the presumption in favor of Neelon’s home forum applies. …

“… Despite filing this motion more than two years after the commencement of the case, Defendants do not expressly state that they would consent to waive any statute-of-limitations defenses in Canada, and do not inform the court of whether the statute of limitations for these claims, arising from statements made in 2011, has run. …

“Defendants have also not indicated that they would consent to being amenable to Mongolian jurisdiction and have not provided any information about Mongolia’s jurisdictional rules or the availability of service of process. In the absence of such information, Defendants have failed to meet their burden of proving Mongolia’s adequacy. …

“… Requiring both parties to travel to Mongolia to litigate this suit would not appear to serve the interests of cost-effective resolution. In addition, in the two years this case has been litigated the court has ruled on other dispositive motions, and the parties have engaged in significant discovery. This progress towards resolution suggests that starting anew in a different forum would also not be expeditious or cost effective for the parties.

“Ultimately, the court finds that although the private interest factors suggest some inconvenience in Massachusetts, much of the same inconvenience would remain even if the case proceeded in Mongolia. …

“… Although the alleged factual predicate underlying these statements occurred in Mongolia, Mongolia’s interest in the parties and cause of action is minimal.”

Neelon v. Krueger, et al. (Lawyers Weekly No. 02-603-14) (19 pages) (Talwani, J.) (USDC) (Civil Action No. 12-cv-11198-IT) (Dec. 5, 2014).

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