13-2572

Rigroup LLC, Bullock v. Trefonisco Mgmt. Ltd.

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS

FOR THE SECOND CIRCUIT

SUMMARY ORDER

RULINGS BY SUMMARY ORDER DO NOT HAVE PRECEDENTIAL EFFECT. CITATION TO A SUMMARY ORDER FILED

ON OR AFTER JANUARY 1, 2007, IS PERMITTED AND IS GOVERNED BY FEDERAL RULE OF APPELLATE

PROCEDURE 32.1 AND THIS COURT’S LOCAL RULE 32.1.1. WHEN CITING A SUMMARY ORDER IN A

DOCUMENT FILED WITH THIS COURT, A PARTY MUST CITE EITHER THE FEDERAL APPENDIX OR AN

ELECTRONIC DATABASE (WITH THE NOTATION “SUMMARY ORDER”). A PARTY CITING A SUMMARY ORDER MUST

SERVE A COPY OF IT ON ANY PARTY NOT REPRESENTED BY COUNSEL.

1 At a stated term of the United States Court of Appeals

2 for the Second Circuit, held at the Thurgood Marshall United

3 States Courthouse, 40 Foley Square, in the City of New York,

on the 18th 4 day of March, two thousand fourteen.

5

6 PRESENT: DENNIS JACOBS,

7 ROSEMARY S. POOLER,

8 Circuit Judges,

9

10 NELSON S. ROMÁN,

District Judge.* 11

12

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14 RIGROUP LLC, JANNA BULLOCK, 

15 Plaintiff-Appellants,

16

17 -v.- 13-2572

18

19 TREFONISCO MANAGEMENT LIMITED,

20 CONFLICT.NET.RU, AKA Limited Liability

21 Company KONFKLIKT.NET.RU, ALEXANDER

22 ESIN, A. V. BELOV, JOHN DOES, 1-9,

* The Honorable Nelson S. Román, United States District

Judge for the Southern District of New York, sitting by

designation.

1
1 GORSOAN LIMITED, VITALY SIROTKIN, JOHN

2 DOES, 1-7,

3 Defendant-Appellees.

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5

6 FOR APPELLANTS: STUART A. SMITH, New York, New

7 York.

8

9 FOR APPELLEES: BERTRAND C. SELLIER (Law Office

10 of Daniel J. Rothstein, P.C., on

11 the brief), Rottenberg Lipman

12 Rich, P.C., New York, New York,

13 for Appellee Alexander Esin.

14

15 W. GORDON DOBIE (Thomas J.

16 Quigley and Nicholas R. Alioto,

17 on the brief), Winston & Strawn

18 LLP, New York, New York, for

19 Appellees Gorsoan Limited and

20 Vitaly Sirotkin.

21

22 Appeal from a judgment of the United States District

23 Court for the Southern District of New York (Furman, J.).

24

25 UPON DUE CONSIDERATION, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED, ADJUDGED

26 AND DECREED that the judgment of the district court be

27 AFFIRMED. 

28

29 Rigroup LLC and Janna Bullock appeal from the judgment

30 of the United States District Court for the Southern

31 District of New York (Furman, J.) dismissing her complaint

32 on the ground of forum non conveniens. We assume the

33 parties’ familiarity with the underlying facts, the

34 procedural history, and the issues presented for review. 

35

36 We review a district court’s decision to dismiss by

37 reason of forum non conveniens for abuse of discretion. 

38 Pollex Holding Ltd. v. Chase Manhattan Bank, 329 F.3d 64, 70

39 (2d Cir. 2003). A district court’s forum non conveniens

40 analysis must follow the three-step process outlined in

41 Iragorri v. United Technologies Corp., 274 F.3d 65 (2d Cir.

42 2001):

43

44 At step one, a court determines the degree of deference

45 properly accorded the plaintiff’s choice of forum. At

46 step two, it considers whether the alternative forum

2
1 proposed by the defendants is adequate to adjudicate

2 the parties’ dispute. Finally, at step three, a court

3 balances the private and public interests implicated in

4 the choice of forum.

5

6 Norex Petroleum Ltd. v. Access Indus., Inc., 416 F.3d 146,

7 153 (2d Cir. 2005). The district court’s well-reasoned

8 decision follows this framework and adequately balanced the

9 interests at stake. The district court, therefore, did not

10 abuse its discretion in dismissing the case on the ground of

11 forum non conveniens. Because Russia provides a more12 convenient forum, the district court also appropriately

13 denied the plaintiffs’ request for limited jurisdictional

14 discovery.

15

16 For the foregoing reasons, and finding no merit in the

17 appellants’ other arguments, we hereby AFFIRM the judgment

18 of the district court.

19

20 FOR THE COURT:

21 CATHERINE O’HAGAN WOLFE, CLERK

22

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