Beatriz Dominguez-Cota et al. v. Cooper Tire & Rubber Co., ____ F.3d ____, No. 03-60802 (5th Cir, January 7, 2005). Beatriz Dominquez-Cota et al. v. Cooper Tire & Rubber Co.

Fifth Circuit holds that courts must look at subject matter jurisdiction before addressing the merits of forum non conveniens.

Plaintiffs-Appellants (“Plaintiffs”) are Mexican nationals who were injured in a single vehicle accident on a Mexican national highway in Camino Tijuana/Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. Plaintiffs alleged that the General Motors Company (“GMC”) vehicle in which they were riding and a Cooper Tire & Rubber Co. (“Cooper”) tire on the vehicle were defective and contributed to the accident. They brought suit in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi. Defendants GMC and Cooper filed a motion to dismiss or transfer based on forum non conveniens issues. The district court granted the motion and dismissed the action.

The issue on appeal was whether the district court properly considered the “non-merits issues” (i.e. forum non conveniens) before making a determination on whether subject matter jurisdiction over the dispute existed. Contrary to decisions in the Second Circuit and D.C. Circuit, the Fifth Circuit interpreted U.S. Supreme Court precedent to hold that the dismissal was improper. Since the district court had not made a determination on subject matter jurisdiction, it had no jurisdictional foundation upon which it was able to consider and decide the “non-merits issues.” Accordingly, the matter was remanded with instructions for a determination to be made on subject matter jurisdiction.