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National Interests, Foreign Injuries, And Federal Forum Non Conveniens, Elizabeth Lear
National Interests, Foreign Injuries, And Federal Forum Non Conveniens, Elizabeth Lear
Elizabeth T Lear
This Article argues that the federal forum non conveniens doctrine subverts critical national interests in international torts cases. For over a quarter century, federal judges have assumed that foreign injury cases, particularly those filed by foreign plaintiffs, are best litigated abroad. This assumption is incorrect. Foreign injuries caused by multinational corporations who tap the American market implicate significant national interests in compensation and/or deterrence. Federal judges approach the forum non conveniens decision as if it were a species of choice of law, as opposed to a choice of forum question. Analyzing the cases from an adjudicatory perspective reveals that in …
Congress, The Federal Courts, And Forum Non Conveniens: Friction On The Frontier Of The Inherent Power, Elizabeth T. Lear
Congress, The Federal Courts, And Forum Non Conveniens: Friction On The Frontier Of The Inherent Power, Elizabeth T. Lear
Elizabeth T Lear
The federal forum non conveniens regime has many flaws; its most serious, however, is its lack of constitutional support. Founded upon the inherent authority of Article III, the forum non conveniens doctrine is an outlier, residing in the area over which Congress retains plenary control. The Court has long treated the forum non conveniens dismissal power as the norm against which Congress legislates. This Article argues that the time has come to reconsider this interpretive approach. In the case of peripheral inherent power rules like forum non conveniens, the prevailing presumption should be reversed. The Court, rather than Congress, should …