Carijano
Carijano v. Occidental Petroleum Corp.
Opinion
Lead Opinion
Wardlaw, J.
Opinion by Judge WARDLAW; Partial Concurrence and Partial Dissent by Judge RYMER.
ORDER
The petition for panel rehearing is granted.
The opinion filed December 6, 2010, and reported at 626 F.3d 1137 (9th Cir.2010), is hereby withdrawn. It may not be cited as precedent by or to this court or any district court of the Ninth Circuit.
The clerk shall file the attached opinion and partial concurrence, partial dissent in place of the prior opinion and partial concurrence, partial dissent. The parties are free to file new petitions for rehearing or rehearing en banc pursuant to Ninth Circuit General Order 5.3 and Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 40.
Occidental’s motion for leave to file a reply in support of its petition for panel *1222 rehearing and rehearing en banc is therefore dismissed as moot.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
OPINION
These cross-appeals arise from the petroleum and oil exploration operations conducted by defendant Occidental Peruana (“OxyPeru”), an indirect subsidiary of defendant Occidental Petroleum Corporation (collectively “Occidental”), along the Rio Corrientes in the northern region of Peru. Plaintiffs, 25 members of the Achuar indigenous group dependent for…
Concurrence in Part
Rymer, J.
concurring in part, dissenting in part:
I agree that the district court did not abuse its discretion in determining that Peru is an adequate alternative forum. I also believe that conditions on dismissal might be appropriate, but would not require that any be imposed. Nor would I reanalyze whether to dismiss on grounds of forum non conveniens from scratch, because dismissals for forum non conveniens may be reversed only when there has been a clear abuse of discretion. Creative Tech., Ltd. v. Aztech Sys. Pte, Ltd., 61 F.3d 696, 699 (9th Cir.1995). The district court considered the relevant public and private interest factors, its findings are supported in the record, and its balancing of these factors was not unreasonable. Thus, its decision deserves substantial deference. See id.
I
I cannot say that the district court abused its discretion in weighing the public and private interest factors. It took into account that 25 out of the 26 plaintiffs are Peruvian and that Amazon Watch is only one plaintiff on one out of the 12 causes of action. Amazon Watch was not originally a plaintiff in California state court, having been added only after the Peruvian plaintiffs learned that…