Opinion ID: 779110
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Does an Adequate Alternative Forum Exist?

Text: 22 Ordinarily, the requirement of an adequate alternative forum will be satisfied when the defendant is `amenable to process' in the other jurisdiction. In rare circumstances, however, where the remedy offered by the other forum is clearly unsatisfactory, the other forum may not be an adequate alternative.... Piper Aircraft Co. v. Reyno, 454 U.S. 235, 255 n. 22, 102 S.Ct. 252, 70 L.Ed.2d 419 (1981); DiRienzo v. Philip Servs. Corp., 232 F.3d 49, 57 (2d Cir.2000) ([A]n agreement by the defendant to submit to the jurisdiction of the foreign forum can generally satisfy th[e] [alternative forum] requirement.), vacated on other grounds, 294 F.3d 21 (2d Cir.2002). Plaintiffs raise several objections to the availability and adequacy of an Ecuadorian forum. 1 23 Plaintiffs contend first that Ecuador does not offer an alternative forum because Law 55 precludes them from proceeding in Ecuadorian courts. Law 55 provides, [S]hould the lawsuit be filed outside Ecuadorian territory, this will definitely terminate national competency as well as any jurisdiction of Ecuadorian judges over the matter. Plaintiffs argue that Law 55 deprives Ecuadorian courts of competency to assert jurisdiction because both suits were first filed in the United States. They contend that dismissal for forum non conveniens would leave them without a forum in which to proceed. We agree with the district court's skepticism as to the law's retroactivity, as well as its application to cases dismissed for forum non conveniens. We note furthermore that following oral argument the parties submitted to us an April 30, 2002 decision of the Ecuadorian Constitutional Court declaring Law 55 unconstitutional. We need not determine the scope of Law 55, as the district court qualified its dismissal specifying that, in the event the cases were dismissed in Ecuador under Law 55 and this result were affirmed by Ecuador's highest court, it would be open to reconsider the question. 2 But see Bank of Credit and Commerce Int'l v. State Bank of Pak., 273 F.3d 241, 248 (2d Cir.2001) (suggesting that the degree of protection that must be afforded by a conditional dismissal on forum non conveniens grounds will vary depending on how certain the court is that, under unsettled foreign law, the foreign forum will be available). 24 We find no merit in plaintiffs' further argument that Ecuadorian courts are unreceptive to tort claims. The record shows that several plaintiffs have recovered judgments against TexPet and PetroEcuador for claims arising out of the very facts here alleged. Other U.S. courts have found Ecuador to be an adequate forum for hosting tort suits. See, e.g., Delgado v. Shell Oil Co., 890 F.Supp. 1324, 1359-60 (S.D.Tex.1995) (Ecuador adequate to host mass tort suit for pesticide exposure); Ciba-Geigy Ltd. v. Fish Peddler, Inc., 691 So.2d 1111, 1117 (Fla.Dist.Ct.App.1997) (finding Ecuadorian forum adequate for hosting suit for fungicide exposure). In addition, Texaco has offered unrebutted evidence of other types of successful tort claims brought in Ecuadorian courts, including personal injury claims by Ecuadorian oilfield workers against TexPet. 25 Plaintiffs' contention is predicated on the absence of tort actions on the docket of Ecuador's Supreme Court. Given Texaco's showing that tort judgments are awarded by Ecuador's courts, their absence from the docket of the Supreme Court of Ecuador appears to be of little significance. 26 Plaintiffs' third objection is that Ecuadorian courts do not recognize class actions. On the other hand, Ecuador permits litigants with similar causes of action arising out of the same facts to join together in a single lawsuit. While the need for thousands of individual plaintiffs to authorize the action in their names is more burdensome than having them represented by a representative in a class action, it is not so burdensome as to deprive the plaintiffs of an effective alternative forum. Cf. Blanco v. Banco Industrial de Venezuela, S.A., 997 F.2d 974, 982 (2d Cir.1993) ([T]he unavailability of beneficial litigation procedures similar to those available in the federal district courts does not render an alternative forum inadequate.). 27 Plaintiffs point further to several respects in which Ecuadorian procedure is less efficient than U.S. procedure. While Ecuador's judicial procedures may be less streamlined than ours, that does not make Ecuador's procedures ineffective or render Ecuador inadequate as an alternative forum. See id., 997 F.2d at 982; DiRienzo, 232 F.3d at 58-59. 28 Plaintiffs contend that Ecuadorian courts are subject to corrupt influences and are incapable of acting impartially. After ordering supplemental briefing on this question, Judge Rakoff made detailed findings. He found: 1) no evidence of impropriety by Texaco or any past member of the Consortium in any prior judicial proceeding in Ecuador; 2) there are presently pending in Ecuador's courts numerous cases against multinational corporations without any evidence of corruption; 3) Ecuador has recently taken significant steps to further the independence of its judiciary; 4) the State Department's general description of Ecuador's judiciary as politicized applies primarily to cases of confrontations between the police and political protestors; 5) numerous U.S. courts have found Ecuador adequate for the resolution of civil disputes involving U.S. companies; and 6) because these cases will be the subject of close public and political scrutiny, as confirmed by the Republic's involvement in the litigation, there is little chance of undue influence being applied. See Aguinda, 142 F.Supp.2d at 544-46. We cannot say that these findings were an abuse of discretion. See Leon v. Millon Air, Inc., 251 F.3d 1305, 1313 n. 3 (11th Cir.2001). 29 Finally, plaintiffs challenge the district court's allowance of only 60 days for the assertion of plaintiffs' claims in Ecuador exempt from claims of preclusion. We agree with this objection. In the district court, timely claims were brought on behalf of nearly 55,000 plaintiffs. In Ecuador, because class action procedures are not recognized, signed authorizations would need to be obtained for each individual plaintiff. This presents a formidable administrative task for which we believe 60 days is inadequate time. We therefore direct the district court to modify its ruling to make dismissal conditioned on Texaco's agreeing to waive any defense based on a statute of limitations for limitation periods expiring between the date of filing these United States actions and one year (rather than 60 days) following the dismissal of these actions. 30