Piper Aircraft v Reyno Essay Example for Free

Piper Aircraft v Reyno Essay Facts: A small airplane crashed in Scotland killing several Scottish citizens. The respondents who are Scottish and who are the representatives of the estates of the citizens and residents who were killed in the crash filed suit for wrongful death in United States Federal District Court in California. The forum was later transferred to the United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania upon motion of the petitioner. It appears that the aircraft was manufactured in Pennsylvania by petitioner Piper Aircraft Co. Â  The propellers were manufactured in Ohio by petitioner Hartzell Propeller, Inc. At the time of the accident the aircraft was registered in Great Britain and was owned and maintained by Air Navigation and Trading Co. , Ltd and was operated by McDonald Aviation, Ltd. , a Scottish air taxi service. Both Air Navigation and McDonald were organized in the United Kingdom. Petitioners filed a motion to dismiss on the ground of forum non conveniens. After finding that an alternative forum exists in Scotland, the District Court granted the motion and dismissed the complaint. The United States Court of Appeals reversed the district court’s decision on the ground that the dismissal of the suit is automatically barred when the law of the alternative forum is less favorable to the plaintiff than the law of the forum chosen by the plaintiff. Issue: whether the district court abused its discretion in granting the petitioner’s motion to dismiss on the ground of forum non convenience Ruling. No. The district court did not abuse its discretion in granting the petitioner’s motion to dismiss. Thus, judgment of the United States Court of Appeals was reversed. Rationale: It is well-settled that a claim will be dismissed on the ground of forum non conveniens if the amount of burden and difficulty to the defendant is out of proportion to the convenience of the plaintiff. The dismissal of a suit will not ordinarily be denied on the simple reason that the forum is less favorable to the plaintiff In dismissing a case for forum non convenience several factors are considered because they affect the conduct of the trial. These factors are: a) the access to sources of proof and evidence; b) the availability of compulsory process for attendance of unwilling witnesses, c) the cost of obtaining attendance of willing witnesses; d) the possibility of viewing of premises; In this case, the factors heavily favor Scotland because the wreckage of the airplane is in Scotland and all of the witnesses to the crash are also in Scotland. Also, the deceased were all Scottish. Scotland has a strong interest in hearing this case since the incident happened in its airspace. On the other hand, the disadvantage that will result to plaintiff if this suit will be brought in the United States is insignificant considering that the interest of the United States in the suit is not sufficient enough to justify the amount of time and expenses that will be wasted if the suit will be filed in the United States