Following Stangvik v. Shiley, Inc. (1991) 54 Cal.3d 744 and National Football League v. Fireman’s Fund Ins. Co. (2013) 216 Cal.App.4th 902 and criticizing and not following Ford Motor Co. v, Insurance Co. of North America (1995) 35 Cal.App.4th 604, 611, this decision holds that on a defendant’s forum non conveniens motion in a suit brought by a plaintiff who is not a California resident, the plaintiff’s choice of forum is entitled to little deference.  Hence, the trial court erred in requiring the defendant here to show that California was a “seriously inconvenient forum.”

California Court of Appeal, Sixth District (Elia, J.); April 27, 2017; 2017 WL 1507929