Opinion ID: 2750493
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Colombian Interests

Text: We next consider the strength of Colombia’s interest in litigating the matter. See Ungaro-Benages, 379 F.3d at 1238. As in Bi, the activity here occurred exclusively within the territory of a foreign state and involved solely foreign victims. 984 F.2d at 586. Although Defendants are U.S. corporations, the district court correctly concluded that “Colombia has a strong interest in preventing this Court’s jurisdiction over the instant case.” Mujica I, 381 F. Supp. 2d at 1162. The court came to that conclusion after considering one of the two démarches from the Colombian Ministry of Foreign Affairs that were attached to the SOI. Id. Both Garamendi, 539 U.S. at 396; Movsesian v. Victoria Versicherung AG, 670 F.3d 1067, 1071–72 (9th Cir. 2012). 64 MUJICA V. AIRSCAN démarches referenced, by case number, the instant matter’s district court litigation. The first démarche, dated February 25, 2004, informed the U.S. Embassy in Bogota that “the Colombian judiciary in accordance with the principle of territoriality” was investigating the Santo Domingo bombing and assessing “the responsibility of agents of the Colombian Government” who were involved in it. The second démarche, dated March 12, 2004, stated simply: “The Ministry of Foreign Affairs wishes to add that the Government of Colombia is of the opinion that any decision in this case may affect the relations between Colombia and the US.” While the second démarche did not explain why Colombia holds this position, the SOI surmised that Colombia had a strong interest in avoiding duplicative litigation that “may be seen as unwarranted and intrusive” or would show disrespect for the “legitimacy of Colombian judicial institutions.” In any event, as the district court observed, the Colombian government does not have “to explain itself to a federal court.” Mujica I, 381 F. Supp. 2d at 1162. Although Colombia’s position is not detailed, “inherent in the concept of comity is the desirability of having the courts of one nation accord deference to the official position of a foreign state, at least when the position is expressed on matters concerning actions of the foreign state taken within or with respect to its own territory.” Jota, 157 F.3d at 160. Here, Colombia has done exactly that—it has taken a specific position on an incident that occurred within its territory involving its nationals. See also Freund, 592 F. Supp. 2d at 578 (crediting the official position of both the United States and France that France should be the “exclusive” forum for addressing plaintiffs claims where the underlying act occurred in France). MUJICA V. AIRSCAN 65 This situation thus stands in clear contrast to other cases where a foreign state did not express an interest in having its courts serve as a forum for relevant litigation. See Abad v. Bayer Corp., 563 F.3d 663, 668 (7th Cir. 2009) (“[N]either [Argentina nor the United States] appears to have any interest in having the litigation tried in its courts rather than in the courts of the other country; certainly no one in the government of either country has expressed to us a desire to have these lawsuits litigated in its courts.”); Pacheco de Perez v. AT&T Co., 139 F.3d 1368, 1378 (11th Cir. 1998) (“[W]e think it significant . . . that the Venezuelan government has taken no position on whether this lawsuit proceeds in the United States or Venezuela.”). Under the comity doctrine, we seek “to foster international cooperation and encourage reciprocal recognition of U.S. judgments in foreign courts.” United States v. One Gulfstream G-V Jet Aircraft, 941 F. Supp. 2d 1, 8 (D.D.C. 2013) (citing Oetjen v. Cent. Leather Co., 246 U.S. 297, 304 (1918) (“To permit the validity of the acts of one sovereign state to be reexamined and perhaps condemned by the courts of another would very certainly imperil the amicable relations between governments and vex the peace of nations.”)). Accordingly, we find that Colombia’s interest in serving as the exclusive forum for this litigation is strong.