Opinion ID: 75793
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The Florida State Court Proceedings

Text: 5 After returning to the United States, the Bestors, the Cohons, and the Esfelds filed separate personal injury actions against Costa in the state court in and for Miami-Dade County, Florida. 3 Costa moved to dismiss the three lawsuits based on the doctrine of forum non conveniens, 4 but the trial court denied the motion in each case. Costa filed an interlocutory appeal to challenge the denial of its motion in the Bestors' case, but it chose not to file an appeal in either the Cohons' case or the Esfelds' case. On appeal, Florida's Third District Court of Appeal (the Third District) reversed the trial court, concluding that the Bestors' case should be dismissed on forum non conveniens grounds. See Pearl Cruises v. Bestor, 678 So.2d 372 (Fla.Dist.Ct.App.1996). The Third District ruled that Italy provided a more proper forum for the litigation, since Costa had consented to the jurisdiction of the Italian courts and had agreed to waive reliance on any statute of limitations. The Third District stated in conclusion that the Bestors were free to bring suit in any other jurisdiction which [would] entertain it. Id. at 373. 6 In its ruling, the Third District relied on Kinney System, 674 So.2d at 93, in which the Florida Supreme Court adopted federal forum non conveniens law as the appropriate standard for Florida state courts. In the Bestors' case, however, the Third District applied that standard in a manner different from how federal courts have applied it. Specifically, the Third District, in addressing the forum non conveniens issue, focused on Florida's connection to and interest in the case, concluding that the Bestors' lawsuit had no meaningful relationship to Florida whatever and that Florida's interests in [the] litigation [were] next to non-existent. Bestor, 678 So.2d at 372. In contrast, federal courts, in the forum non conveniens context, do not focus on the connection between the case and a particular state, but rather on the connection of the case to the United States as a whole. See La Seguridad v. Transytur Line, 707 F.2d 1304, 1308 (11th Cir.1983) (focusing on the relation between the claims and issues raised by the plaintiffs and the United States). Thus, unlike a federal court, the Third District dismissed the Bestors' lawsuit without considering whether the suit had any important connections with a United States jurisdiction located beyond Florida's borders. 7 Upon dismissal of their lawsuit, the Bestors petitioned the Florida Supreme Court for review, but their petition was denied. See Bestor v. Pearl Cruises, 689 So.2d 1068 (Fla.1997). With the Bestors' case successfully dismissed, Costa renewed its motion to dismiss on forum non conveniens grounds in the two cases brought by the Cohons and the Esfelds, respectively. The trial court again denied the motions. The court reasoned that since Costa could have filed an interlocutory appeal from the denial of its first motion in the Cohons' and the Esfelds' cases, Costa had waived its forum non conveniens objection. 8 The Third District consolidated the suits of the Cohons and the Esfelds on appeal and reversed the trial court, concluding that its forum non conveniens analysis in the Bestors' case was controlling. See Pearl Cruises v. Cohon, 728 So.2d 1226 (Fla.Dist.Ct.App.1999) (per curiam). In reaching this result, the Third District specifically noted that in the forum non conveniens context, Florida courts, unlike federal courts, are only permitted to consider the contacts that a lawsuit has with the State of Florida, given that Florida courts' territorial jurisdiction is confined to the state boundaries. Id. at 1228 n. ; see also Fla. R. Civ. Pro. 1.061 (explaining that [a]n action may be dismissed on the ground that a satisfactory remedy may be more conveniently sought in a jurisdiction other than Florida ) (emphasis added). The Third District concluded by stating that [a]s in Bestor, the plaintiffs [were] free to refile in Italy or in any other jurisdiction which [would] entertain the cases. Cohon, 728 So.2d at 1228. The Florida Supreme Court then denied the petition of the Cohons and the Esfelds for review. See Cohon v. Pearl Cruises, 744 So.2d 453 (Fla.1999).