In the article “Exploring a Powerful Legal Tool in Trade Secret Clashes,” Knobbe Martens partners Marko Zoretic and Nicholas Zovko discuss how practitioners can use the doctrine of forum non conveniens in global litigation matters.
According to Zoretic and Zovko, forum non conveniens “allows a US court to dismiss a case before it where it would be more appropriate for a foreign court to resolve the dispute.” The authors go on to explain that in order to prevail on a motion to dismiss based on forum non conveniens, defendants must establish “the existence of an adequate alternative forum, and that the balance of private and public interest factors favors dismissal.”
Using SPS Technologies v. Briles Aerospace as an example, Zoretic and Zovko explain how certain defendants (the Lisi defendants) prevailed on a motion to dismiss based on forum non conveniens. This led to the Court dismissing the Lisi defendants from a trade secret misappropriation lawsuit in federal district court in Los Angeles, thus limiting the litigation against the Lisi defendants to Canada only. The authors conclude the Lisi defendants “saved significant time and expense” using this strategy and encourage practitioners in comparable matters with international clients to “consider a similar strategy to potentially narrow and streamline global disputes.”
Read the full article here.
