Civil Litigation
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AEROLINEAS ARGENTINAS, S.A., etc. v. RAQUEL LAURA GIMENEZ, etc.
27 Fla. L. Weekly D238 (Fla. 3d DCA Jan. 23, 2002)
On October 10, 1997, Flight 2553, allegedly operated by defendants, crashed in Uruguay while en route from Posados, Argentina to Buenos Aires, Argentina, killing all 69 passengers and 5 crew members. The passengers were all citizens and residents of Argentina. In October of 1999, the personal representatives of 49 of those killed in the crash brought wrongful death actions against Austral in federal court in Argentina alleging a malfunction in the aircraft. The next day, the personal representatives of 52 of those killed in the crash brought wrongful death actions in the Circuit Court of Miami-Dade County against Aerolineas and Austral alleging that they negligently trained their flight crews in Miami, Florida. Two of the personal representatives were citizens, and three were residents, of the United States.
Aerolineas filed a motion to dismiss on forum non conveniens grounds, seeking to transfer the action to the adequate and more convenient alternate forum of Argentina. A trial court heard the motion and entered an order finding that assessment of costs would preclude plaintiffs from litigating in Argentina. Aerolineas contended that the trial court abused its discretion in denying its motion to dismiss. The appellate court agreed because both defendants were subject to personal jurisdiction and amenable to process in Argentina. Furthermore, the adequacy of the Argentenian forum was evident from the plaintiffs
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