Opinion ID: 432088
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Burden of Defending.

Text: 44 While a primary concern in assessing the reasonableness of jurisdiction is the burden on the defendant, it is not dispositive and is to be considered in light of other relevant factors; World-Wide Volkswagen, 444 U.S. at 292, 100 S.Ct. at 564. Raffaele, 707 F.2d at 398. 45 Undoubtedly, litigating abroad imposes significant inconveniences upon the party appearing in a foreign country. Transportation of witnesses, attorneys and physical evidence presents problems of logistics and expense, as does the need to translate testimony and documents. However, these inconveniences are minimized in the instant case. The physical evidence, including the wreckage and crash site, is located in San Diego. Other evidence, such as National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) reports and the testimony of San Diego air traffic controllers and NTSB investigators, is in English and is available in San Diego as well. Additionally, advances in international transportation and communication facilities have diminished many of the burdens of litigating in a foreign nation. Hanson v. Denckla, 357 U.S. 235, 251, 78 S.Ct. 1228, 1238, 2 L.Ed.2d 1283 (1958); See Raffaele, 707 F.2d at 398; Important Mexican witnesses, such as the Tijuana air traffic controllers, are located just across the border and are readily accessible via modern transportation and communication links. Litigating the instant case in San Diego is far less burdensome to the defendant than much of the interstate litigation routinely pursued in the United States. Indeed, the burden on Mexico to defend in San Diego is as small as any foreign defendant may be expected to bear. Compare Hedrick v. Daiko Shoji Co., Ltd., Osaka, 715 .2d 1355, 1359 (9th Cir.1983); Raffaele, 707 F.2d at 398; N.A., 649 F.2d at 1271-72. 46