Henri Solari v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co.
654 F. App'x 763
| 6th Cir. | 2016Background
- Three French plaintiffs (Solari, Carnaby, Dupuis) allege toxic exposure while working at Goodyear Dunlop Tires France’s Amiens factory and sued Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. (U.S.) in the N.D. Ohio seeking to represent a class of ~700.
- Claims allege U.S. company manufactured/compelled use of toxic products, failed to warn or provide safety equipment, and include tort and spoliation counts related to factory disassembly.
- Goodyear U.S. moved to dismiss on forum non conveniens grounds; the district court granted conditional dismissal requiring Goodyear U.S. to submit to French jurisdiction, provide evidence, satisfy French judgments, and waive certain statutes of limitations defenses.
- Plaintiffs sought leave to file a sur-reply to address allegedly new arguments; the district court denied the sur-reply as moot.
- Plaintiffs appealed both the forum non conveniens dismissal and denial of the sur-reply.
- The Sixth Circuit affirmed, holding France is an adequate alternative forum, the private and public interest factors favor dismissal, separate per-claim analysis was unnecessary here, and denial of the sur-reply was not an abuse of discretion.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Deference to forum choice | Foreign plaintiffs still entitled to deference; district did not state amount | Foreign plaintiff’s choice deserves less deference because they are foreign | Court: district adequately acknowledged reduced deference; no abuse of discretion |
| Adequacy of alternative forum (jurisdiction) | French law expert says jurisdiction limited to defendant’s domicile under Art. 42 | Goodyear U.S. agreed to submit to French jurisdiction; French law allows courts where harm/event occurred | Court: France has multiple competent fora (Amiens tribunal, specialty tribunals); adequate alternative forum exists |
| Adequacy of remedies (class actions, discovery, medical monitoring) | France lacks class actions, discovery to identify class, and medical-monitoring injunctive relief | Absence of class procedure or identical remedies does not render forum inadequate; France provides damages (including for anxiety) and other remedies; Goodyear U.S. will produce documents | Court: Remedies in France are adequate; lack of class action or identical remedies is not fatal; conditional dismissal protects plaintiffs |
| Private/public interest factors and claim-by-claim analysis | District should analyze factors separately for each distinct claim (some may rely on U.S. evidence) | All claims arise from events in Amiens; evidence and witnesses are primarily in France; Duha/Zions concerns not present | Court: Factors (access to proof, witnesses, local interest) favor France; because evidence for all claims centers in France, separate analyses unnecessary; dismissal affirmed |
| Denial of sur-reply | Reply raised new French-law and factual arguments; Plaintiffs needed chance to respond | Allegedly new law appeared in experts’ declarations; factual reply related to a different motion; denial was reasonable | Court: No abuse of discretion in denying sur-reply; arguments were not new or were moot due to dismissal on forum non conveniens |
Key Cases Cited
- Piper Aircraft Co. v. Reyno, 454 U.S. 235 (forum non conveniens framework and reduced deference for foreign plaintiffs)
- Gulf Oil Corp. v. Gilbert, 330 U.S. 501 (public/private interest factors for forum non conveniens)
- Wong v. PartyGaming Ltd., 589 F.3d 821 (deference to forum choice analysis)
- Zions First Nat’l Bank v. Moto Diesel Mexicana, S.A. de C.V., 629 F.3d 520 (adequate alternative forum and need for claim-specific analysis in some cases)
- Duha v. Agrium, Inc., 448 F.3d 867 (requiring separate factor analysis when some claims depend on U.S.-located evidence)
- Dowling v. Richardson-Merrell, Inc., 727 F.2d 608 (private-interest factors and weighting for foreign plaintiffs)
- Stewart v. Dow Chem. Co., 865 F.2d 103 (conditioning dismissal on defendant producing documents abroad supports forum non conveniens dismissal)
- Gschwind v. Cessna Aircraft Co., 161 F.3d 602 (recognizing France as adequate forum in product/ wrongful-death context)
- Magnin v. Teledyne Cont’l Motors, 91 F.3d 1424 (France as adequate alternative forum for negligence/products liability)