Opinion ID: 754726
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Foreign Copyright Claims.

Text: 51 Invoking the doctrine of forum non conveniens, the district court dismissed Boosey's second cause of action, which sought damages for copyright infringement deriving from Disney's sales of videocassettes of Fantasia in at least eighteen foreign countries. Boosey & Hawkes, 934 F.Supp. at 125. The court below concluded that these claims should be tried in each of the nations whose copyright laws are invoked. Id. at 124. Boosey appeals, seeking remand to the district court for trial. 52 District courts enjoy broad discretion to decide whether to dismiss an action under the doctrine of forum non conveniens. See Scottish Air Int'l Inc. v. British Caledonian Group, PLC, 81 F.3d 1224, 1232 (2d Cir.1996). Nevertheless, this discretion is subject to meaningful appellate review. R. Maganlal & Co. v. M.G. Chem. Co., Inc., 942 F.2d 164, 167 (2d Cir.1991). A dismissal for forum non conveniens will be upset on appeal where a defendant has failed to demonstrate that an adequate alternative forum exists and that the balance of convenience tilts strongly in favor of trial in the foreign forum. Id.; see also Manu Int'l S.A. v. Avon Products Inc., 641 F.2d 62, 65 (2d Cir.1981) (emphasizing appellate obligation to enforce principle that unless the balance is strongly in favor of the defendant, the plaintiff's choice of forum should rarely be disturbed) (quoting Gulf Oil Corp. v. Gilbert, 330 U.S. 501, 508, 67 S.Ct. 839, 843, 91 L.Ed. 1055 (1947)). 53 We recently explained that a motion to dismiss under forum non conveniens is decided in two steps. See Peregrine Myanmar Ltd. v. Segal, 89 F.3d 41, 46 (2d Cir.1996). The district court first must determine whether there exists an alternative forum with jurisdiction to hear the case. Id. If so, the court then weighs the factors set out in Gilbert, 330 U.S at 508-09, 67 S.Ct. at 843 (the Gilbert factors), to decide which forum ... will be most convenient and will best serve the ends of justice. Peregrine Myanmar, 89 F.3d at 46. 54 The district court failed to consider whether there were alternative fora capable of adjudicating Boosey's copyright claims. Boosey & Hawkes, 934 F.Supp. at 125. It made no determination whether Disney was subject to jurisdiction in the various countries where the court anticipated that trial would occur and did not condition dismissal on Disney's consent to jurisdiction in those nations. 8 55 Furthermore, consideration of the Gilbert factors makes plain that forum non conveniens is inappropriate here. The district court must carefully weigh the private and public interests set forth in Gilbert and may grant the forum non conveniens motion only if these considerations strongly support dismissal. See R. Maganlal & Co., 942 F.2d at 167-68; see also Manu Int'l, 641 F.2d at 65, 67 (indicating that presumption in favor of plaintiff's choice of forum also applies to foreign litigants). Relevant private interests of the litigants include access to proof, availability of witnesses and all other practical problems that make trial of a case easy, expeditious and inexpensive. Gilbert, 330 U.S. at 508, 67 S.Ct. at 843. 56 The private interests of the litigants favor conducting the litigation in New York where the plaintiff brought suit. Disney does not allege that a New York forum is inconvenient. The necessary evidence and witnesses are available and ready for presentation. A trial here promises to begin and end sooner than elsewhere, and would allow the parties to sort out their rights and obligations in a single proceeding. This is not a circumstance where the plaintiff's choice of forum is motivated by harassment. Gilbert, 330 U.S. at 507, 67 S.Ct. at 842. Indeed, it seems rather more likely that Disney's motion seeks to split the suit into 18 parts in 18 nations, complicate the suit, delay it, and render it more expensive. 57 In dismissing the cases, the court relied on the public interests identified in Gilbert. It reasoned that the trial would require extensive application of foreign copyright and antitrust jurisprudence, bodies of law involving strong national interests best litigated in their respective countries. Boosey & Hawkes, 934 F.Supp. at 124. The court concluded as well that these necessary inquiries into foreign law would place an undue burden on our judicial system. Id. 58 While reluctance to apply foreign law is a valid factor favoring dismissal under Gilbert, standing alone it does not justify dismissal. See Piper Aircraft Co. v. Reyno, 454 U.S. 235, 260 n. 29, 102 S.Ct. 252, 268 n. 29, 70 L.Ed.2d 419 (1981) ([T]he need to apply foreign law .... alone is not sufficient to warrant dismissal.). District courts must weigh this factor along with the other relevant considerations. See id.; see also Manu Int'l, 641 F.2d at 68 (Proof of foreign law ... is not alone enough to push the balance of convenience strongly in favor of the defendant. The other forum non conveniens factors must do that.). Numerous countervailing considerations suggest that New York venue is proper: defendant is a U.S. corporation, the 1939 agreement was substantially negotiated and signed in New York, and the agreement is governed by New York law. The plaintiff has chosen New York and the trial is ready to proceed here. Everything before us suggests that trial would be more easy, expeditious and inexpensive in the district court than dispersed to 18 foreign nations. See Gilbert, 330 U.S. at 508, 67 S.Ct. at 843; R. Maganlal & Co., 942 F.2d at 167. We therefore vacate the dismissal of the foreign copyright claims and remand for trial. 59