Foreign Defendant Government and Forum non Conveniens
In a 14 page opinion, the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia affirmed the District Court in the matter MBI Group, Inc. v. Credit Foncier Du Cameroun , docket number 09-7079, on August 6, 2010. An American plaintiff sued the government of Cameroon and parties from Cameroon in a contract and bribery matter.
The lower court had found the nexus to Cameroon to be very strong and the public interest nexus to the United States to be outweighed by the public interest of a trial in Cameroon that it had dismissed the matter under the forum non conveniens doctrine.
Instead of pursuing litigation in Cameroon as instructed by the District Court, the plaintiffs undertook minimal efforts abroad and soon petitioned the U.S. court to resume its proceedings because filing suit in Cameroon would be too expensive and a fair trial would be elusive.
On further instruction, the parties returned to the Cameroonian judiciary and defendants managed to arrange for hearings which could potentially reduce the burdensome filing fees for the plaintiffs. The latter refused to pursue such remedies, however, and turned once more to the District Court which again found against plaintiffs.
The Circuit Court upheld the forum non conveniens analysis of the lower court in all respects. There is not absolute right of an American plaintiff company doing business abroad to have its case heard in a United States court, the court explained. -- Clemens Kochinke, partner, Berliner, Corcoran & Rowe, LLP, Washington, DC.
Fri, / Embassy Law Link