Opinion ID: 181111
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Relative Ease of Access to Documents and Witnesses

Text: The district court's failure to recognize the strong presumption in favor of Zions' choice of Michigan as the forum for this action is evident in its analysis of the relevant Gulf Oil factors. In that respect, the district court erred in according inordinate weight to the cost of travel and obtaining witnesses. The district court's discussion of the private Gulf Oil factors consisted of the following: The private interest factorsaccess to sources of proof, location of witnesses weigh in favor of Mexico. All of MDM and Majapara's witnesses are located there. Zions Bank's witnesses are in Utah, although they apparently have traveled to Mexico on business before. The parties have not identified any witnesses in Michigan, except perhaps a custodian of the records of Comerica Bank. MDM's bank records are in Michigan, although it should be a simple matter to transfer those records to Mexico; these records are likely in MDM's possession already as well. As a practical matter, all parties will need to travel to Michigan for trial if the case remains here, which the court believes will be more logistically difficult and expensive than if the case were tried in Mexico. Zions, 2009 WL 910764, at . The cost of travel and of obtaining testimony of witnesses is an appropriate consideration in initially determining whether the forum selected by the plaintiff oppresses the defendant. Here, the district court simply noted the potentially greater logistical difficulty and expense entailed by requiring the parties to travel to Michigan instead of Mexico. Id. Such a conclusion does not establish an oppressive or vexatious burden on the defendant, which used a bank in Michigan to conduct the business at issue in this case. The fact that MDM's witnesses are in Mexico is a consideration, but less so given that the gist of this lawsuit is business activity of MDM in Detroit, Michigan. With respect to this factor, MDM contends on appeal that Majapara witnesses would resist the giving of testimony in the United States, because the company is allegedly under criminal investigation in Mexico. No such finding was made by the district court, however, and the affidavit cited by MDM indicates only that one officer of the company has been arrested in connection with a criminal investigation, but does not specify whether that officer is actually a witness in this case. ( See R. 13 Ex. A. ¶ 5.) As held in Duha, availability of compulsory process, though a consideration, is less weighty when it has not been alleged or shown that any witness would be unwilling to testify. Duha, 448 F.3d at 877.