APPEALS COURT AFFIRMS FLORIDA FORUM IN DISPUTE BETWEEN FOREIGN COMPANIES OVER OFFSHORE BOND TRANSACTIONS
An appellate court upheld the denial of dismissal of a lawsuit relating to certain offshore bond transactions (made in U.S. Dollars) between a Venezuelan reinsurer and a British Virgin Islands company, finding that Florida was a proper forum for the case. The reinsurer filed suit in Florida, a state in which the defendant had a business address, and the defendant moved to dismiss, contending that Venezuela, rather than Florida, was the proper forum. The lower court denied the motion and the appellate court affirmed, holding that the defendant failed to meet its burden of establishing that all of the following four factors were met to show improper forum: (1) adequate alternative forum; (2) private interests; (3) public interest; and (4) inconvenience/prejudice. While it was undisputed that Venezuela was an adequate alternative forum, the court held that private interests, such as access to evidence and witnesses, adequate enforcement of judgments, and expense, did not balance in the defendant’s favor. ABA Capital Markets Corp. v. Provincial De Reaseguros C.A., Case No. 3D12-130 (Fla. Ct. App. Nov. 7, 2012).
This post written by Michael Wolgin.
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