Opinion ID: 752072
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Alternative Forum

Text: 35 UCC makes three arguments regarding the existence of an adequate alternative forum. First, UCC contends that the district court's examination of Indonesia as an adequate alternative forum was fundamentally flawed by the district court's omission of the individual defendants from that inquiry. Second, UCC argues that the unavailability of RICO claims under Indonesian law precludes the use of the Indonesian forum. Third, UCC claims the Indonesian court would lack personal jurisdiction. 36 UCC contends that the forum non conveniens analysis fails because the district court did not examine the adequacy of the alternate forum as to the individual defendants against whom it had dismissed all claims for lack of personal jurisdiction. This argument is unpersuasive. Once a court dismisses claims against a party for lack of personal jurisdiction, that party is no longer a defendant before that court. Moreover, the rule UCC suggests would be unworkable. If the court had to consider the motion to dismiss on the grounds of forum non conveniens as to all defendants, including those properly and concurrently dismissed for lack of personal jurisdiction, a plaintiff could craftily preemptively defeat any such potential motion. For example, a Swedish plaintiff could bring an action in the Southern District of New York against a Swedish defendant and a California citizen with a known jurisdictional defect and no links to Sweden. If the court had to consider the adequacy of Sweden as an alternate forum as to all defendants, dismissed and non-dismissed, the Swedish plaintiff would likely, and absurdly, prevail, and a case between two Swedish parties would unnecessarily proceed in U.S. court. 37 The court proceeds to UCC's second alternative forum adequacy question. The availability of an adequate alternate forum does not depend on the existence of the identical cause of action in the other forum. See Piper Aircraft, 454 U.S. at 250, 102 S.Ct. at 263. Upon its inquiry, the district court determined that the causes of action that are available in an Indonesian court adequately address the underlying controversy expressed in plaintiff's complaint. Contrary to UCC's assertion, the nonexistence of a RICO statute there does not, by itself, preclude the use of another forum. Transunion Corp. v. PepsiCo, Inc., 811 F.2d 127, 130 (2d Cir.1987)(plaintiff's argument that RICO claims cannot be dismissed on forum non conveniens grounds unpersuasive; fraud action deemed an adequate substitute); Kempe v. Ocean Drilling & Exploration Co., 876 F.2d 1138, 1144-45 (5th Cir.1989)(RICO's legislative history does not reveal intended immunity from forum non conveniens ); Berry v. New York State Dep't of Correctional Servs., 808 F.Supp. 1106, 1110 (S.D.N.Y.1992)(forum non conveniens doctrine applies to RICO actions). The district court does not appear to have inquired as to every particularity of Indonesian law, specifically omitting the question of the existence of respondeat superior and conspiracy theories under Indonesian law, but neither did it abuse its discretion in determining the alternative adequacy of fraud actions in tort. The district court was obliged to discern whether the laws enforceable in Indonesian courts were an adequate, not identical, alternative. 38 Turning to UCC's third concern, the court finds that any potential problem with Indonesian personal jurisdiction as to all defendants was cured. While UCC suggests the Indonesian courts lack personal jurisdiction over the individual defendants, this argument is moot. As the court noted earlier, after the individual defendants are dismissed, they are no longer parties before the court. As to Crown, the district court conditioned the forum non conveniens dismissal on its consent to personal jurisdiction in Indonesia. A defendant may submit to the jurisdiction of an Indonesian court. See Zipfel v. Halliburton Co., 832 F.2d 1477, 1484 (9th Cir.1987). 6 Thus, the district court did not err by conditioning the dismissal on Crown's consent to personal jurisdiction in Indonesia and any potential jurisdictional problem is avoided.