Opinion ID: 1476448
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 14

Heading:  Other Practical Problems

Text: The practical problem identified by the Court of Chancery is that it will be difficult to distinguish between the extraction-related property damage claimed by plaintiffs in this action and the property damage resulting from Pan American's seismic activities for which FSB has already been compensated and given a release. That factor favored the Argentine forum, the Court of Chancery found, because Argentine courts would not face that definitional problem, whereas a Delaware court would. That conclusion is erroneous, because whichever court hears and decides Candlewood's claims, whether in Delaware or Argentina, will be required to engage in the task of delineating between the two different sources of damage. This practical problem, to the extent it exists, does not depend on the locus of the litigation. That is, if this constitutes a hardship to Pan American (or to anyone else), it is not a hardship that results from litigating in Delaware. Accordingly, the finding that this factor favored Argentina rests on an incorrect premise. For these reasons, the Court of Chancery's assessment of the Cryo-Maid factors, and its conclusion that those factors establish overwhelming hardship, are not adequately supported by the record.