Opinion ID: 737436
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Whether the Trial Court Correctly Balanced the Interests Involved.

Text: 14 Provided an adequate alternative forum exists, the district court must then balance the private and public interest factors that emerge in a given case. Gilbert, 330 U.S. at 508, 67 S.Ct. at 843; Koster, 330 U.S. at 524, 67 S.Ct. at 831-32. Ordinarily, the trial court should not supplant the plaintiff's choice of forum. Piper, 454 U.S. at 241, 102 S.Ct. at 258; Wilson, 916 F.2d at 1245. When the plaintiff chooses his home forum, it is reasonable to assume that this choice is convenient. Piper, 454 U.S. at 256, 102 S.Ct. at 266. However, because the primary objective of any forum non conveniens inquiry is to ensure that the trial is convenient, a foreign plaintiff's choice of forum deserves less deference. Id.; Wilson, 916 F.2d at 1246. In this case, the district court was aware that it should pay less deference to Kamel's forum choice because he (and Al Muraa) are Saudi Arabian citizens. 15 The factors pertaining to the private interests of the litigants include the relative ease of access to sources of proof; availability of compulsory process for the attendance of unwilling witnesses; the cost of obtaining the attendance of willing witnesses; the possibility of viewing the premises, if necessary; and all other practical problems that make trial of a case easy, efficient and economical. Gilbert, 330 U.S. at 508, 67 S.Ct. at 843. The public factors include the administrative difficulties stemming from court congestion; the local interest in having localized disputes decided at home; the interest in having the trial of a diversity case in a forum that is at home with the law that must govern the action; the avoidance of unnecessary problems in conflicts of laws or in the application of foreign law; and the unfairness of burdening citizens in an unrelated forum with jury duty. Piper, 454 U.S. at 241 n. 6, 102 S.Ct. at 258 n. 6. 16 Kamel contends that the district court erred when it determined that the private interests relating to documentary proof and the availability of witnesses favored trial in Saudi Arabia. As for the public interests, Kamel believes that the district court erroneously concluded that the interests of Indiana residents in this case were marginal. Kamel also finds fault with the district court's finding that choice-of-law issues favored trial in Saudi Arabia. Finally, Kamel maintains that the district court erred because it did not weigh the disadvantages and advantages of both forums, but only set its sights on the inconveniences of Indiana. 17 The district court adequately balanced the private factors. As to documentary proof, the court found that although the parties had already exchanged numerous documents, dozens of contracts which form the basis of their dispute and which are written in Arabic remain in Saudi Arabia. The district court further determined that, aside from a few of Hill-Rom's principals, all other pertinent and potential witnesses are located in Saudi Arabia. Kamel, however, maintains that every one of the witnesses specifically named by Hill-Rom is available to testify in person in Indiana. Hill-Rom's list consists of seven people, four of whom are Hill-Rom officers. Of the four, one of them would have to travel to the United States to testify. The next two witnesses, Kamel and Al Muraa's general manager, Burkhard Piotrowski, are available because of Kamel's willingness to incur the cost of a $3,500 round-trip ticket from Riyadh to Indianapolis. Finally, Kamel argues that Chedid is within the district court's jurisdiction, but today we reach a contrary conclusion, as discussed below. Adding to the mix is the fact that a considerable number of Hill-Rom's potential witnesses, including Al Muraa's customers, reside in Saudi Arabia. We therefore find that the district court's inference of inconvenience was permissible. 18 The district court adequately balanced the public factors. The district court permissibly concluded that the interests of Saudi Arabians outweigh the interests of Indiana residents. Kamel stresses that the defendant's home forum always has an interest in providing a forum for redress for injuries caused by one of its citizens. Reid-Walen v. Hansen, 933 F.2d 1390, 1400 (8th Cir.1991). Indiana residents have an interest in this case because Hill-Rom is an Indiana corporation, but we find the present case to be distinguishable from Reid-Walen and cases with similar holdings. In Reid-Walen, a Minnesota citizen was injured when an errant Jamaican citizen struck her with his motorboat while she was swimming near the beach area of a Jamaican resort owned by a Missouri couple. The plaintiff originally brought her claim against the defendant couple in the Southern District of Florida, but the case was subsequently transferred to a Missouri district court. There the defendants succeeded on their forum non conveniens motion when district court ruled that Jamaica was the proper forum. The Eighth Circuit reversed, reasoning that proper weight should have been given to the fact that both the plaintiff and the defendants were United States citizens. Id. at 1394. The court emphasized that the plaintiff was not engaging in extensive business relations abroad. Rather, she was a United States citizen enjoying a personal vacation in a resort spot which was located near the United States and owned by United States citizens. Id. at 1395. This factual scenario bears little resemblance to the case before us. 19 The court in Reid-Walen also noted that there are certain situations where a court will give less consideration to the maxim that the defendant's home forum always has an interest in providing a forum for redress for injuries caused by one of its citizens. The court observed that, given the ever-expanding realm of international commerce, many courts have somewhat discounted a plaintiff's United States citizenship when that plaintiff is an American corporation with extensive foreign business and it brings an action for an injury occurring in a foreign country. Id. at 1395. The facts in Kamel's suit suggest a still stronger case for giving less weight to the above maxim. Here, we do not even have an American plaintiff. Instead, we have a foreign plaintiff who was injured in a foreign land filing suit against an American defendant with extensive foreign dealings. The district court thus made a permissible inference that Indiana residents have a mere passing interest in this case. 20 Concerning Kamel's worries over choice of law, we find no abuse of discretion in the district court's applying Indiana choice-of-law rules. For Kamel's tort claims, the district court stated that Indiana uses the law of the place where the injury occurred so long as that place bears a significant connection to the case. See Hubbard Mfg. Co., Inc. v. Greeson, 515 N.E.2d 1071, 1073 (Ind.1987); Giffin v. Summerlin, 78 F.3d 1227, 1230 n. 3 (7th Cir.1996). The place of injury was clearly Saudi Arabia, where Kamel's business would suffer as a result of Hill-Rom's conduct. The condition of significant connection was easily satisfied, as Saudi Arabia is the residence of Kamel, Al Muraa and Chedid and the locale where the parties conducted their ongoing business relationship. For Kamel's claims that sound in contract law, the district court employed Indiana's most significant relationship test. See Eby v. York-Division, Borg-Warner, 455 N.E.2d 623, 626 (Ind.Ct.App.1983); Secon Serv. Sys., Inc. v. St. Joseph Bank & Trust Co., 855 F.2d 406, 413 (7th Cir.1988). This test likewise pointed to Saudi Arabia, as that is where the contract was negotiated and performed and where its subject matter can be found. Under Indiana choice-of-law rules, the district court would have to apply Saudi Arabian law. The district court was therefore justifiably concerned with presiding over a trial in which it would have to delve into the tenets of an unfamiliar legal system. 21 Overall, contrary to what Kamel suggests, the district court did not disregard the advantages of Indiana. The district court considered that the parties had already exchanged a number of documents in an Indiana District Court, recognized that Hill-Rom's principals are all Indiana residents, and acknowledged that Indiana has an interest in this suit because Hill-Rom is an Indiana corporation. However, the district court simply concluded that the Gilbert factors balanced in favor of Saudi Arabia. Accordingly, we find no abuse of discretion in the district court's balancing act. 22