Decision of Note: <b>NY Proper Forum For Suit Over BBC Documentary</b>

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit held that a New York-based plaintiff properly filed suit in Manhattan federal court alleging unjust enrichment and misappropriation of idea by the British Broadcasting Corp. (BBC). Gross v. British Broadcasting Corp., 03-7306. Plaintiff Pat Gross claimed that the BBC had without permission used her idea for a documentary about militant animal-rights activists that was broadcast in the United Kingdom. The district court dismissed the complaint for forum non conveniens.

Vacating and remanding, the Second Circuit noted: “The BBC has a presence in New York, and is unquestionably subject to personal jurisdiction in the Southern District [of New York]. … We have consistently held that when the plaintiff is a U.S. citizen and she selects her home forum, that choice is ordinarily entitled to substantial deference from the courts, especially when there is no challenge regarding the legitimacy of the plaintiff's motives for choosing her home forum.”

Among conflicting factors in this case were that most of the witnesses and relevant documents were in England while Gross had done much of the research for her project in the U.S. But the appeals court concluded that the former factors didn't overcome the forum-choice presumption in favor of Gross when considering private interests. The appeals court emphasized that Gross “is an individual who claims to be of modest means; the burden of litigating abroad is likely a greater obstacle to an individual than to a large business corporation. … Second, the subject matter of this suit is not like a real property action with a physical connection to a particular location. Rather, the subject matter is creative work ' intellectual property ' and so the suit itself has less natural connection to any particular forum, leaving the convenience of the parties to be the primary consideration.”

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit held that a New York-based plaintiff properly filed suit in Manhattan federal court alleging unjust enrichment and misappropriation of idea by the British Broadcasting Corp. (BBC). Gross v. British Broadcasting Corp., 03-7306. Plaintiff Pat Gross claimed that the BBC had without permission used her idea for a documentary about militant animal-rights activists that was broadcast in the United Kingdom. The district court dismissed the complaint for forum non conveniens.

Vacating and remanding, the Second Circuit noted: “The BBC has a presence in New York, and is unquestionably subject to personal jurisdiction in the Southern District [of New York]. … We have consistently held that when the plaintiff is a U.S. citizen and she selects her home forum, that choice is ordinarily entitled to substantial deference from the courts, especially when there is no challenge regarding the legitimacy of the plaintiff's motives for choosing her home forum.”

Among conflicting factors in this case were that most of the witnesses and relevant documents were in England while Gross had done much of the research for her project in the U.S. But the appeals court concluded that the former factors didn't overcome the forum-choice presumption in favor of Gross when considering private interests. The appeals court emphasized that Gross “is an individual who claims to be of modest means; the burden of litigating abroad is likely a greater obstacle to an individual than to a large business corporation. … Second, the subject matter of this suit is not like a real property action with a physical connection to a particular location. Rather, the subject matter is creative work ' intellectual property ' and so the suit itself has less natural connection to any particular forum, leaving the convenience of the parties to be the primary consideration.”