Francis Schertenleib v. Jerome S. Traum

Summary

The Second Circuit reviewed a Southern District of New York dismissal of claims arising from allegedly false testimony and related events in Geneva, Switzerland. The court held that a federal court may conditionally dismiss on forum non conveniens grounds even when the alternative foreign forum was not initially available without the defendant's consent, provided the defendant consents to jurisdiction there. The court affirmed the dismissal with modifications, including a requirement that the defendant waive any statute of limitations defense arising since the action was commenced.

Holdings

1. A district court may dismiss an action under the common-law doctrine of forum non conveniens when an alternative foreign forum is currently available through the defendant's consent, even if the plaintiff could not have commenced the action there as of right when suit was filed.
2. The district court did not abuse its discretion in conditionally dismissing the abuse-of-process, prima facie-tort, and defamation claims because the balance of private and public conveniences overwhelmingly favored Geneva.
3. New York Judiciary Law § 487 does not apply extraterritorially to alleged deceit occurring outside New York in proceedings before foreign courts or authorities.
4. A conditional forum non conveniens dismissal should require the defendant to submit to jurisdiction in the alternative forum and waive any statute-of-limitations defense that arose after commencement of the dismissed action.

Questions Presented

1. Whether a federal district court may dismiss an action on forum non conveniens grounds when the alternative foreign forum was not available to the plaintiff as of right when the action commenced but becomes available through the defendant's consent.
2. Whether the district court abused its discretion in determining that Geneva was a substantially more convenient forum and conditionally dismissing the tort claims.
3. Whether New York Judiciary Law § 487 applies to alleged deceit by an attorney occurring outside New York and involving proceedings before foreign courts and authorities.
4. What conditions were necessary to ensure that the conditional dismissal did not leave the plaintiff without a remedy.

Disposition

affirmed