ORDER AND REASONS
Defendant Zen-Noh Grain Corporation moves for issuance of a preliminary and permanent injunction to prohibit plaintiff, Commercializadora Portimex, S.A. de C.V., from proceeding against Zen-Noh in a suit Portimex filed in Mexico. The Court ordered the trial on the merits of the application for permanent injunctive relief consolidated with the application for a preliminary injunction and held a hearing on the request for injunctive relief on June 7, 2005. For the following reasons, the Court GRANTS defendant’s motion.
I. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND
Portimex is a Mexican corporation engaged in the importation of grain, including sorghum. Zen-Noh -is a Louisiana corporation that exports grain, including sorghum, from its grain elevator on the Mississippi River in Convent, Louisiana. In two separate contracts, Portimex agreed to buy and Zen-Noh agreed to sell two shipments of sorghum. Because Por-timex intended to sell the sorghum for use as animal feed, it specified that the sorghum contain a maximum 100 parts per billion of zearlenone, to be certified by an independent laboratory. Zearlenone is a
Zen-Noh loaded the first shipment of sorghum in 18 sublots on to Portimex’s barge on December 20, 2001. Zen-Noh selected Thionville Laboratories, Inc. to test and certify the shiplot for, among other things, zearlenone in excess of 100 ppb. Thionville reported that each sublot tested “negative” for zearlenone in excess of 100 ppb.
Zen-Noh loaded the second shipment of sorghum on to the MTV MELINI on February 2 and 3, 2002. The shiplot was comprised of 18 sublots. Zen-Noh again selected Thionville to test and certify the sorghum. Because Portimex was concerned about the level of zearlenone in the shipment, it obtained samples sealed at loading and sent these to CII Laboratory Services, an independent lab in Kansas City, Missouri.
The MELINI left port on February 3, 2002, and arrived in Tuxpan, Mexico several days later. On February 6, 2002, Thion-ville reported its test results. Using the method required by Portimex, Thionville determined that one sublot contained 180 ppb zearlenone and the remaining 17 sub-lots contained less than 100 ppb. Thion-ville determined that the mathematical average of the 18 test results equaled 20 ppb, so Thionville certified that the sorghum contained less than 100 ppb. Portimex could have attended Thionville’s testing, but it did not. Portimex could have requested hard copies of Thionville’s laboratory results, but it did not. On February 8, 2002, CII reported that eight of the 18 sublots contained zearlenone in excess of 100 ppb. CII also conducted a 19th test on a composite sample drawn from the entire shiplot loaded on to the MELINI. The test of the composite sample indicated that zearlenone did not exceed 100 ppb.
When the MELINI arrived in Tuxpan, buyers requested that the sorghum be tested for zearlenone. The test results revealed zearlenone levels greater than 100 ppb, and the buyers refused to purchase the sorghum.
On April 19, 2002, Portimex filed a lawsuit in this Court against Zen-Noh in which it alleged that Zen-Noh breached both contracts by delivering sorghum with zearlenone in excess of the contractual limit. On September 12, 2002, the Court granted defendant’s motion for summary judgment as to the first shipment of sorghum. 1 After undertaking a choice of law analysis and determining that Louisiana law governed the interpretation of the contract, which neither party disputed, the Court found that the contract unambiguously stated that the sorghum was to be tested for compliance with contract specifications at the time that it was loaded on to the barge in Louisiana. The Court also found that Zen-Noh’s testing and the levels of zearlenone in the sorghum when it was shipped complied with Zen-Noh’s contractual obligations. Finally, the Court determined that Portimex had agreed to be bound by Thionville’s determination that the sorghum complied with the contract specifications and that Portimex’s own tests, conducted after the sorghum was unloaded in Mexico, did not raise a genuine issue of material fact as to Zen-Noh’s compliance with the contract. The Court subsequently denied Portimex’s Rule 59(e) motion to alter or amend its judgment because the motion had no merit.
The Court held a three-day trial on Por-timex’s claims regarding the second shipment of sorghum. In an Order and Reasons dated November 1, 2002, the Court, again applying Louisiana law without objection from the parties, found that Zen-
Because Portimex allegedly threatened to relitigate its claims in Mexico if it were unsuccessful in this case, Zen-Noh moved for a permanent injunction to prohibit Por-timex from instituting or maintaining additional lawsuits in another jurisdiction pertaining to the shipments of sorghum at issue in this case. In an Order and Reasons dated December 3, 2002, the Court recognized that it had the power to enjoin persons subject to its jurisdiction from prosecuting foreign suits in certain circumstances. 3 Nevertheless, the Court denied Zen-Noh’s motion as premature, because Portimex had only threatened to file a suit in a foreign jurisdiction.
On December 19, 2002, Portimex sued Thionville and Thionville’s insurer in Louisiana state court for negligence, breach of contract, violation of the Louisiana Unfair Trade Practices Act, breach of covenant of good faith and fair dealing, detrimental reliance, and intentional or negligent misrepresentations. Thionville filed a third-party complaint against Zen-Noh in the state proceedings, and Zen-Noh removed the case to this Court. On June 14, 2002, the Court remanded the case to state court.
On February 10, 2004, Portimex sued Zen-Noh in the Sixth District Court for Civil Matters of the Federal District of Mexico. Zen-Noh was served with the complaint on May 10, 2005 and filed a motion for a preliminary and permanent injunction on May 24, 2005. Zen-Noh asserts that Portimex’s Mexican lawsuit is based on the same two sorghum shipments involved in this case, that it asserts the same breach of contract claims, and that it seeks the same damages as Portimex asserted before this Court. Zen-Noh contends that an antisuit injunction is therefore appropriate to protect this Court’s final judgment on these issues. Portimex argues that an injunction is inappropriate because its lawsuit in Mexico asserts claims under an international treaty.
II. DISCUSSION
A. Standard to Enjoin Foreign Litigation
Generally, to obtain a preliminary injunction, a movant must demonstrate: (1) a substantial likelihood of success on the merits; (2) a substantial threat of irreparable harm if the injunction is not granted; (3) that the threatened injury outweighs any potential harm to the nonmovant; and (4) that the injunction will not undermine the public interest.
Karaha Bodas Co., L.L.C. v. Perusahaan Pertambangan Minyak Dan Gas Bumi Negara,
A foreign antisuit injunction, such as the one requested here, is a special application of these injunction rules.
See id.
at 364 (noting that a foreign antisuit injunction is a “particular subspecies of preliminary injunction”). Thus, the Fifth Circuit has held that “the suitability of such relief ultimately depends on considerations unique to antisuit injunctions.”
Id.
It is well established that federal courts are empowered to enjoin persons subject to their jurisdiction from prosecuting foreign suits.
Kaepa, Inc. v. Achilles Corp., 76 F.3d
624, 626 (5th Cir.1996). An injunction against the prosecution of a foreign lawsuit may be appropriate when the foreign litigation would: (1) frustrate a policy of the forum issuing the injunction; (2) be vexatious or oppressive; (3) threaten the issuing court’s in rem or quasi in rem jurisdiction; or (4) cause prejudice or offend other equitable principles.
Id.
at 627 n. 9 (citing
In re Unterweser Reederei, Gmbh,
B. Analysis
1. Domestic Judicial Interests
To determine whether proceedings in another forum constitute vexatious or oppressive litigation that threatens the Court’s jurisdiction, the Court considers whether the following interrelated factors are present: (1) inequitable hardship resulting from the foreign suit; (2) the foreign suit’s ability to frustrate and delay the speedy and efficient determination of the cause; and (3) the extent to which the foreign suit is duplicitous of the litigation in the United States. Id.
Applying these factors, the Court finds Portimex’s proceeding in Mexico constitutes vexatious and oppressive litigation that threatens the Court’s jurisdiction. Portimex chose this Court in which to litigate its contract claims to final judgment in the first instance. Zen-Noh is a Louisiana company and because it has already defended Protimex’s breach of contract claims on the same transactions and prevailed in final judgments in this Court, it would be an inequitable hardship to require Zen-Noh to devote the time and expense to defend itself against the same claims in Mexico.
See Home Healthcare Affiliates of Mississippi, Inc. v. North American Indem. N.V.,
No. 1:01CV489-D-A,
As to the second factor, whether the foreign suit may delay an efficient determination, it is clearly inefficient to permit parties to thwart the finality of judgments by relitigating the same claims once they have been finally adjudicated. Although this factor is often examined in cases in which a party seeks a injunction to stop foreign litigation when another suit on the same claims is pending, efficiency concerns are no less implicated when a suit has gone to judgment, and the party who lost seeks to start the process all over again in another jurisdiction.
Third, the Court finds that the litigation in Mexico is duplicative of the litigation that took place before this Court. Zen-Noh’s counsel has represented to the Court, and the Court’s examination of the complaint confirms, that Portimex’s Mexican lawsuit is based on the same facts and transactions and seeks the same contract damages that were involved in this case.
(See
Def.’s Ex. 1, Portimex Compl. at ¶ 51). Although Portimex contends that the Mexican lawsuit is not duplicative because it alleges claims under the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods, Portimex’s argument is meritless. Portimex cannot escape the duplicative nature of the breach of contract claims it has asserted in Mexico, which plainly involve the same parties, the same facts and the same causes of action, merely by arguing that different law applies to those contract claims. In both actions, Portimex alleged that Zen-Noh breached the two contracts for the sale of sorghum. Application of the Convention to those allegations does not give rise to any new or different causes of action. Further, even though Portimex had a full and fair opportunity in this Court to argue that the Convention should apply to its breach of contract claims, it never did so, nor did it dispute the Court’s application of Louisiana law.
Cf. Betkell v. Peace,
Because Portimex’s breach of contract action in Mexico arises from the same transactions and alleges the same causes of action, it is duplicative and would be barred by the doctrine of res judicata. The rule governing which law applies to determine the preclusive effect of an earlier judgment by a district court sitting in diversity has recently been changed. The Fifth Circuit has recognized that in determining the preclusive effect of a prior judgment, the Supreme Court’s decision in
Semtek Int’l Inc. v. Lockheed Martin Corp.,
Louisiana’s res judicata statute provides: Except as otherwise provided by law, a valid and final judgment is conclusive between the same parties, except on appeal or other direct review, to the following extent: ...
(2) If the judgment is in favor of the defendant, all causes of action existing at the time of final judgment arising out of the transaction or occurrence that is the subject matter of the litigation are extinguished and the judgment bars a subsequent action on those causes of action.
La.Rev.Stat. Ajsín. § 13:4231. Under the statute, a second action is precluded when a first action has proceeded to judgment and: (1) the judgment is valid; (2) the judgment is final; (3) the parties are the same; (4) the cause of action asserted in the second suit existed at the time of final judgment in the first litigation; and (5) the cause of action asserted in the second suit arose out of the transaction or occurrence that was the subject matter of the first litigation.
Burguieres v. Pollingue,
Here, Portimex’s claims against Zen-Noh in the Mexican litigation satisfy all of the elements for res judicata under section 13:4231. Portimex’s Mexican litigation involves the same parties and claims on the same transactions that Portimex litigated to final, valid judgments in the first action. Specifically, Portimex’s breach of contract claims in Mexico arise out of the same two contracts for the sale of sorghum that were the subject matter of the litigation in this Court.
Further, Portimex has not argued that it could not have asserted that the Convention governed its breach of contract claims in the original action. Nor has it asserted that a contract claim arose under the Convention after it went to judgment in the first suit. Accordingly, the two cases Por-timex relied on at the hearing to support its res judicata position do not alter the Court’s analysis. First, both cases applied federal law of preclusion, which, as the Court has noted, no longer governs the preclusive effect of the Court’s judgments in a diversity case. Second, the holdings in both cases were based on the unremarkable proposition that conduct that occurs after the judgment in the original action may gave rise to new causes of action.
See Kilgoar v. Colbert County Bd. of Educ.,
Finally, Portimex was on notice that a vexatious effort to relitigate the same claims could be enjoined by this Court. When the Court denied Zen-Noh’s first request for an injunction, the Court recognized that it had the power to issue an injunction against foreign litigation in certain circumstances. The Court denied Zen-Noh’s motion primarily because Porti-mex had only threatened to file a suit in a foreign jurisdiction, and the single threat did not amount to harassment. Portimex has now carried out its threat. Accordingly, the Court finds that Portimex’s Mexican lawsuit constitutes vexatious or oppressive litigation and that this Court’s
2. Interests in International Comity
The Court must now weigh its domestic judicial interests against interests of international comity. Although the Court recognizes the importance and sensitivity of principles of international comity, an antisuit injunction against foreign litigation in this case does not implicate these concerns. First, this case involves a contractual dispute between two private parties that does not implicate any public international issues.
See Kaepa, Inc.,
Courts in other circuits have also recognized that international comity concerns about issuing an antisuit injunction against foreign litigation are lessened when a case has already proceeded to final judgment on the merits in the domestic court.
See Paramedics Electromedicina Comercial, Ltda. v. GE Medical Sys. Info. Techs., Inc.,
3. Traditional Injunctive Relief Test
The Court’s discussion establishes that Zen-Noh has proven actual success on the merits, which in the case of a foreign
C. Relief
Zen-Noh requests that the Court preliminarily and permanently enjoin all litigation that involves the same two shipments of sorghum that Portimex may institute against Zen-Noh in any jurisdiction. This remedy is overly-broad.
See Home Healthcare Affiliates of Mississippi v. North American Indem. N.V.,
III. CONCLUSION
For the foregoing reasons, the Court GRANTS defendant’s motion for a preliminary and permanent injunction. The Court ORDERS that Commercializadora Portimex, S.A. de C.V. and its principals and agents are preliminarily and permanently enjoined from pursuing the action filed in the Sixth District Court for Civil Matters of the Federal District of the United Mexican States, entitled Comercializadora Portimex, S.A. de C.V. vs Zen-Noh Grain (Export) Division of Zen-Noh Grain Corporation.