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Ison v. E.I. Dupont De Nemours and Company5/25/1999
Upon appeal from Superior Court.
REVERSED AND REMANDED.
In this forum non conveniens case, we reverse the trial court's dismissal of a tort action against the defendant. The plaintiffs are foreign families whose claims arise out of alleged birth defects, including blindness, caused by a chemical manufactured by defendant. The injuries allegedly occurred in England, Wales, Scotland and New Zealand by reason of the mothers' exposure to the chemical when used agriculturally.
In dismissing this action, the trial court listed the convenience factors traditionally used by Delaware courts in analyzing whether to dismiss an action on grounds of forum non conveniens, and concluded that, on balance, they favored the defendant. But the trial court did not mention, analyze or apply the central criterion of Delaware Supreme Court jurisprudence: that the defendant must show "overwhelming hardship" if the case is to be dismissed. Rather, the trial court concluded in a brief letter opinion merely that "there is a better forum to prosecute these matters," meaning the various foreign fora.
We hold that a trial court, in applying the doctrine of forum non conveniens, may not rest its analysis on the Conclusion that "there is a better forum." The court must require the defendant to show that this is one of those rare cases where the drastic relief of dismissal is warranted based on a strong showing that the burden of litigating in this forum is so severe as to result in manifest hardship to the defendant.
The fact that the plaintiffs are foreign nationals does not deprive them of the presumption that their choice of forum should be respected. Although that presumption is not as strong in the case of a foreign national plaintiff as in the case of a plaintiff who resides in the forum, we need not rest our decision on that issue because of the defendant's weak showing of hardship. Here the defendant had its principal place of business in Delaware. There were significant contacts between the defendant's activities in Delaware and the product alleged to have caused the harm. These facts, in the context of the analysis of the traditional convenience factors, effectively negate any claim of hardship presented by the defendant sufficient to deprive these plaintiffs of their choice of forum.
Facts
This is a consolidated case, combining product liability claims filed against E.I. duPont de Nemours and Company, Inc. ("DuPont") in the Superior Court. Prior to consolidation, the plaintiffs sued DuPont in three separate groups, each alleging that the mothers' exposure to Benlate, a DuPont product, caused specific birth defects in their children. DuPont is a Delaware corporation and has its principal place of business in Delaware.
All of the alleged exposures to Benlate occurred outside of the United States, specifically in New Zealand, England, Wales and Scotland. The Ison plaintiffs are from New Zealand and claim that the mothers' exposure to Benlate while employed by the Christchurch City Council in city nurseries and botanic gardens caused specific birth defects in their children. They filed a complaint in the Superior Court, New Castle County, alleging that job -related exposure to Benlate caused the birth defects. They allege that exposure occurred over several years through ingestion, absorption, dust inhalation, resulting from planting Benlate-soaked seedlings, and planting flower bulbs dusted with Benlate. The evidence related to the Ison plaintiffs' exposure to Benlate and their subsequent medical care is located in New Zealand.
The Bowen plaintiffs are two families, one from England and one from Wales, that allege t
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