All Along the Watchtower: Forum Non Conveniens in International Aviation

Abstract

Before filing suit, plaintiffs’ attorneys engage in a Conflicts of Laws analysis to find the jurisdiction with the most sympathetic law, and most likely to result in the largest possible judgment for their clients. Juries in the United States are perceived to be the most generous in awarding judgments; hence, aviation suits often are filed in U.S. courts, even when they involve injuries and death of foreign citizens on an aircraft flown by a foreign air carrier and crew that crashed into foreign soil. The concept of forum non conveniens remains among the most useful tools for defendants seeking to remove the case to a less generous jurisdiction.

Keywords: aviation, international, torts, procedure, forum non conveniens, Montreal Convention