Gutierrez

Before: JOHNNIE B. RAWLINSON and MILAN D. SMITH, JR., Circuit Judges, and ROBERT C. JONES, District Judge. [*]

M. SMITH, Circuit Judge:

Plaintiffs appeal the district court's dismissal of their complaint on forum non conveniens grounds. Plaintiffs, who were grievously injured when they developed eye infections after surgery in Mexico, initially brought suit against Defendant-Appellee Advanced Medical Optics, Inc. (Defendant) in the Central District of California. Defendant moved to dismiss the lawsuit, arguing that Mexico was an adequate alternative forum, and that both public and private interests weighed in favor of dismissal. The district court agreed, and dismissed the case without placing any conditions on the dismissal. The district court also denied Plaintiffs' motion for reconsideration of its dismissal order.

Plaintiffs appealed to our court, but contemporaneously filed an action in Mexico. During the pendency of Plaintiffs' appeal, the Mexican courts declined to exercise jurisdiction over Plaintiffs' suit filed there. Plaintiffs argue that the district court erred in finding that Mexico was an available alternative forum and by not placing conditions on the dismissal…

Plaintiffs appeal the district court’s dismissal of their complaint on forum non conveniens grounds. Plaintiffs, who were grievously injured when they developed eye infections after surgery in Mexico, initially brought suit against Defendant Appellee Advanced Medical Optics, Inc. (Defendant) in the Central District of California. Defendant moved to dismiss the lawsuit, arguing that Mexico was an adequate alternative forum, and that both public and private interests weighed in favor of dismissal. The district court agreed, and dismissed the case without placing any conditions on the dismissal. The district court also denied Plaintiffs’ motion for reconsideration of its dismissal order.

Plaintiffs appealed to our court, but contemporaneously filed an action in Mexico. During the pendency of Plaintiffs’ appeal, the Mexican courts declined to exercise jurisdiction over Plaintiffs’ suit filed there. Plaintiffs argue that the district court erred in finding that Mexico was an available alternative forum and by not placing conditions on the dismissal of the case.

While we conclude that, based on the evidence before it at the time, the district court did not err in its initial…

concurring in part and dissenting in part:

I agree with my colleagues in the majority that the dismissal of this case on forum non conveniens grounds is reviewed for an abuse of discretion. I also agree that the district court acted within its discretion when it granted the Defendant’s motion to dismiss. Nevertheless, the majority goes further and holds that the district court must now reconsider its admittedly correct ruling. I expressly decline to join that portion of the majority opinion. I am not *1033 convinced that we “are therefore compelled to address the fact that Mexico has declined to accept jurisdiction.” Majority Opinion, p. 1030. Indeed, the fact that a court in Mexico declined to accept jurisdiction says nothing about whether Mexico was an alternative forum for Plaintiffs’ lawsuit. Indeed, courts in this country routinely dismiss cases due to a lack of jurisdiction for a variety of reasons. See e.g., Sackett v. U.S. E.P.A., 622 F.3d 1139, 1147 (9th Cir.2010) (dismissing case for lack of subject matter jurisdiction); Kelly v. Fleetwood Enter., Inc., 377 F.3d 1034, 1039-40 (9th Cir.2004), as amended (dismissing case for failure to meet the amount in controversy);…