Sixty-nine European plaintiffs appeal the district court’s order dismissing their case against Cessna Aircraft Company on the basis of forum non conveniens. We find no abuse of discretion and therefore affirm.
I. BACKGROUND
This case arises out of a tragic plane crash that occurred at Linate Airport in Milan, Italy, on October 8, 2001. On that foggy morning, a private Cessna jet operated by Air Evex, a German charter company, made a wrong turn and taxied toward an active runway, causing it to collide with Scandinavian Airlines Flight 686, which was just taking flight. One hundred eighteen people died, including everyone on board both planes and four people on the ground, and others on the ground were injured.
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In March 2003, a complaint was filed against Cessna Aircraft Company (Cessna) in the Southern District of Florida by the King family, acting as personal representatives of the estate of Jessica King (King Plaintiffs). Thereafter, 69 European plaintiffs (European Plaintiffs) brought suits against Cessna, which were consolidated with the King Plaintiffs’ case for administrative purposes. On October 21, 2005, the district court granted in part Cessna’s motion to dismiss the case as to the European Plaintiffs on
forum non conveniens
grounds, denied in part the motion with regard to the King Plaintiffs, and stayed the King Plaintiffs’ case pending resolution of Italian disputes relating to the European Plaintiffs.
King ex rel. Estate of King v. Cessna Aircraft Co.,
On remand, Cessna renewed its motion to dismiss both the King Plaintiffs’ and European Plaintiffs’ complaints on the basis of
forum non conveniens.
The district court “elect[ed] to ‘pursue some other avenue’ ” and, for the reasons it previously gave, granted in part the motion to dismiss with regard to the European Plaintiffs and denied it in part with regard to the King Plaintiffs.
King v. Cessna Aircraft Co.,
No. 03-20482,
II. JURISDICTION
Dismissal of a suit on the basis of
forum non conveniens
is a final, appeal-able order.
Sigalas v. Lido Mar., Inc.,
We do not, however, have jurisdiction to review Cessna’s cross-appeal. Unlike the main appeal, the denial of a motion to dismiss on the basis of
forum non conveniens
is not a final order.
See Van Cauwenberghe v. Biard,
Pendent appellate jurisdiction is present when a nonappealable decision is “inextricably intertwined” with the appeal-able decision or when “review of the former decision [is] necessary to ensure meaningful review of the latter.”
Swint v. Chambers County Comm’n,
In
Fox v. Tyson Foods, Inc.,
we found there was pendent jurisdiction to review those portions of an otherwise nonappealable collective action order the district court relied on when denying the motion to intervene that was appealed.
Importantly, we have found such jurisdiction did not exist when resolution of the nonappealable issue was not necessary to resolve the appealable one.
See Summit Med. Assocs.,
In the Eleventh Circuit, we have never exercised pendent appellate jurisdiction to review an issue like the one raised by the cross-appeal. The district court did not base its decision of whether to dismiss the European Plaintiffs on its decision as to the King Plaintiffs.
See King ex rel. Estate of King,
III. STANDARD OF REVIEW
A district court’s
forum non conveniens
determination “may be reversed only when there has been a clear abuse of discretion; where the court has considered all relevant public and private interest factors, and where its balancing of these factors is reasonable, its decision deserves substantial deference.”
Piper Aircraft Co. v. Reyno,
IV. DISCUSSION
When it made its motion for dismissal on grounds of
forum non conveniens,
Cessna must have demonstrated “that (1) an adequate alternative forum [was] available, (2) the public and private factors weigh[ed] in favor of dismissal, and (3) the plaintiffs could] reinstate [their] suit in the alternative forum without undue convenience or prejudice.”
See Leon v. Million Air, Inc.,
An interest to be considered, and the one likely to be most pressed, is the private interest of the litigant. Important considerations are the relative ease of access to sources of proof; availability of compulsory process for attendance of unwilling, and the cost of obtaining attendance of willing, witnesses; possibility of view of premises, if view would be appropriate to the action; and all other practical problems that make trial of a case easy, expeditious and inexpensive. There may also be questions as to the enforceability of a judgment if one is obtained. The court will weigh relative advantages and obstacles to fair trial. It is often said that the plaintiff may not, by choice of an inconvenient forum, “vex,” “harass,” or “oppress” the defendant by inflicting upon him expense or trouble not necessary to his own right to pursue his remedy. But unless the balance is strongly in favor of the defendant, the plaintiffs choice of forum should rarely be disturbed.
Factors of public interest also have place in applying the doctrine. Administrative difficulties follow for courts when litigation is piled up in congested centers instead of being handled at its origin. Jury duty is a burden that ought not to be imposed upon the people of a community which has no relation to the litigation. In eases which touch the affairs of many persons, there is reason for holding the trial in their view and reach rather than in remote parts of the country where they can learn of it by report only. There is a local interest in having localized controversies decided at home. There is an appropriateness, too, in having the trial of a diversity case in a forum that is at home with the state law that must govern the case, rather than having a court in some other forum untangle problems in conflict of laws, and in law foreign to itself.
Id. (footnote omitted).
These factors are not exhaustive or dispositive, and courts are free to
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be flexible in responding to cases as they are presented.
Sigalas,
A. Availability and Adequacy of the Italian Forum
The defendant bears the burden of demonstrating an adequate alternative forum is available. “Availability and adequacy warrant separate consideration.”
Leon,
In this case, Italy is an available forum because Cessna is willing to submit to jurisdiction and is amenable to process there. In declaring Italy an adequate forum, the district court noted Italian courts have addressed similar cases and awarded satisfactory remedies. Both parties agree Italian law provides the rule of decision regardless of whether the claims are litigated in Milan or Miami. Although they disagree over whether Cessna will be found liable to the European Plaintiffs under Italian law, Italian tort law provides the plaintiffs with comparable remedies for their injuries.
See, e.g., Membreno v. Cos-ta Crociere S.p.A,
B. Private Interest Factors
With regard to weighing the private interests, a “plaintiffs choice of forum should rarely be disturbed.”
Gilbert,
The Second Circuit in
Farmanfarmaian v. Gulf Oil Corp.,
Even assuming that, by treaty, plaintiffs were entitled to access American courts on the same terms as American citizens ..., our case law does not support plaintiffs’ assertion that such a treaty would require that their choice of forum be afforded the same deference afforded to a U.S. citizen bringing suit in his or her home forum. Such a proposition impermissibly conflates citizenship and convenience ....
A court considering a motion for dismissal on the grounds of forum non conveniens does not assign “talismanie significance to the citizenship or residence of the parties,” ... and there is no inflexible rule that protects U.S. citizen or resident plaintiffs from having their causes dismissed for forum non conveniens. ...
[A]ppellants cannot successfully lay claim to the deference owed an American citizen or resident suing in her home forum. Plaintiffs are only entitled, at best, to the lesser deference afforded a U.S. citizen living abroad who sues in a U. S. forum.
Id. at 73 (citations omitted). This analysis makes clear that although citizenship often acts as a proxy for convenience in the forum non conveniens analysis, the appropriate inquiry is indeed convenience.
In this case, then, the lesser deference given by the district court to the European Plaintiffs’ choice of forum was consistent with the treaty obligations of the United States. Just as it would be less reasonable to presume an American citizen living abroad would choose an American forum for convenience, so too can we presume a foreign plaintiff does not choose to litigate in the- United States for convenience.
See Sinochem Int'l Co. v. Malaysia Int’l Shipping Corp.,
Other relevant private interest factors include “the relative ease of access to sources of proof; availability of compulsory process for attendance of unwilling, and the cost of obtaining attendance of willing, witness; ... and all other practical problems that make trial of a case easy, expedi
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tious and inexpensive.”
Gilbert,
C. Public Interest Factors
After discussing the private interests and having found them in or near equipoise, the district court analyzed the public interest factors weighing in favor of dismissal of the European Plaintiffs’ case. Public interest factors include each forum’s interest in hearing the case, the administrative burdens placed on the Court in hearing the case, and the need to apply foreign law.
See, Gilbert,
In the trial court’s analysis, these public interest factors tipped the balance in favor of a trial in Italy for the European Plaintiffs’ case. The district court engaged in a thorough, reasonable analysis of the relevant private and public interest factors, and it did not abuse its discretion in finding the factors weighed in favor of dismissal of the European Plaintiffs.
D. Conditions of the Dismissal
We modify the dismissal order to require Cessna to submit to the jurisdiction of the Italian courts and waive the statute of limitations.
See
28 U.S.C. § 2106 (giving appellate courts the authority to modify). We further modify the dismissal order to provide that any case dismissed pursuant to the district court’s order may be reinstated in the event that jurisdiction to entertain such a case is rejected by a final decision of a court in Italy. We note that conditioning the dismissal does not destroy finality, nor leave the case pending in the district court.
See Leon,
V. CONCLUSION
Echoing the district judge’s sentiments, we are extremely sympathetic to those affected by this tragic airplane crash. Still, our sympathy for the victims and their families cannot alter our conclusion *1385 that the district court did not abuse its discretion in dismissing the European Plaintiffs on the grounds of forum non conveniens. Accordingly, the district court’s order is modified as provided in this opinion and, as modified, is affirmed.
AFFIRMED IN PART, DISMISSED IN PART.
Notes
. The King Plaintiffs argued
Swint
absolutely bars "pendent party
jurisdiction”
— i.e., pendent jurisdiction over a party not involved in the main appeal. However, the appropriate inquiry under
Swint
is not whether the pendent appeal involves a different
party
than is in the main appeal but whether the
issues
of the nonappealable decision are "inextricably intertwined" with the appealable decision or when "review of the former decision [is] necessary to ensure meaningful review of the latter.”
See Swint,
In cases with the same factual scenario as
Swint
— an official immunity appeal in which there was an appeal by another party who could not assert official immunity — we have declared there was no "pendent party jurisdiction.”
See, e.g., Hudson v. Hall,
. The European Plaintiffs represent 21 Swedish citizens, 19 Italian citizens, 19 Danish citizens, 4 Finnish citizens, 3 Norwegian citizens, 1 Romanian citizen, and 1 British citizen. There is also one Italian personal injury claimant. Those representing the Italian and Danish decedents and the Italian personal injury claimant — 39 of the 69 plaintiffs' — are entitled by treaty to “no less favorable” treatment than an American national when suing in U.S. courts. See Treaty of Friendship, Commerce and Navigation, U.S.-Italy, art. V.4, July 26, 1949, 63 Stat. 2255,
