275 F. Supp. 951 | S.D.N.Y. | 1967
OPINION
Plaintiffs, a partnership composed of citizens of India and carrying on business there, commenced this action in the Supreme Court of the State of New York against a Tennessee corporation seeking to recover on a judgment entered in the High Court of Calcutta on an arbitration award. The action was removed to this court by reason of diversity. The defendant moves to dismiss upon the ground of forum non conveniens or, alternatively, pursuant to 28 U.S.C., section 1404(a) to transfer the action either to the Eastern District of Tennessee, Southern Division, or to the Northern District of Georgia, Rome Division, based upon the convenience of parties, witnesses, availability of records and the interests of justice.
The action, which seeks recovery upon a judgment of a foreign state, seemingly
The defendant maintains its principal place of business at Chattanooga, Tennessee. It also maintains a factory at Dalton, Georgia, about thirty miles distant from Chattanooga. The merchandise, the subject matter of the controversy, was shipped by plaintiff from India to the defendant’s factory at Dalton. The evidence as to the claimed breaches exists at Dalton. All witnesses having knowledge thereof reside either at Dalton or Chattanooga, and all records pertaining to the matter are at one place or the other. Upon the affidavits here presented there are no witnesses of plaintiffs or defendant within this district or nearby. Plaintiffs’ allegation, in its supplemental affidavit, that various persons associated with Alfred Kramer & Co., a New York firm, will be “necessary witnesses in relation to any trial,” is defective for its failure to name the witnesses and describe the nature of their proposed testimony.
There is not a single factor which favors retention in this district. The circumstance that plaintiffs’ attorneys maintain their offices in this district is insufficient, in the light of overwhelming factors favoring transfer, to keep the action here.
The motion to dismiss upon the ground of forum non conveniens is denied. The alternative motion to transfer is granted and the case is transferred to the Eastern District of Tennessee, Southern Division.
. Cf. Robbins Music Corp. v. Alamo Music, Inc., 119 F.Supp. 29 (S.D.N.Y.1954).
. See Faucette v. Lykes Bros. S.S. Co., 110 F.Supp. 287, 288 (S.D.N.Y.1953); Ortiz v. Union Oil Co., 102 F.Supp. 492, 493-494 (S.D.N.Y.1952).