The litigation involving the August 2005 crash of West Caribbean Airways flight 708 has led to an extraordinary legal conflict between the highest court of France and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. In 2009, the Eleventh Circuit affirmed the forum non conveniens dismissal of 152 passenger death cases commenced in Miami federal court, and directed the plaintiffs to refile their cases in the French department of Martinique.1 While a large number of the plaintiffs reached settlements of their claims in Martinique, one group continued to fight that venue. Following two years of litigation in Martinique and French courts, this past December the French high court ruled that Martinique was not an available forum.2
Rejecting the Eleventh Circuit opinion, the Cour de Cassation held that the 1999 Montreal Convention treaty3 precluded forum non conveniens dismissal—and directed that the claims be heard in the U.S. forum originally chosen by the plaintiffs.Last month, the remaining plaintiffs filed a motion before the Miami federal court seeking to vacate the judgment of dismissal and reopen the case. If the court refuses to reinstate the case, the legal stalemate will continue.
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