The Texas Supreme Court has granted an emergency stay in wrongful death case that arose in Mexico but was brought in a Dallas district court.
In re Greyhound Lines, Inc. (No. 23-1035; granted January 2, 2024) stems from an accident involving a bus owned and operated by Estrella Blanca, based in Mexico City. The accident occurred near San Luis Potosi. Plaintiff sued the driver, Estrella, and Greyhound in Dallas. Greyhound and Estrella have a ticket-selling agreement under which customers may purchase tickets on either carrier in their primary area of operations on a commission basis. If a customer buys a seat for a trip from the U.S. to Mexico, as occurred in this case, Greyhound issues coupons for each leg of the trip. When the bus reaches the international border, the customer disembarks, crosses the border to Estrella’s bus terminal, and exchanges the remaining coupons for tickets on the appropriate routes owned and operated by Estrella in Mexico. Greyhound has nothing to do with the operation of those routes, the buses, or the hiring of drivers for Estrella buses.
Greyhound moved to dismiss the case under the doctrine of forum non conveniens. After a hearing, the trial court denied the motion. Greyhound sought mandamus from the Dallas Court of Appeals, which the court denied. Greyhound filed a petition for writ of mandamus at SCOTX, which granted an emergency stay pending consideration of the petition.
In its petition, Greyhound argues that the trial court abused its discretion in denying its motion to dismiss. This case appears to us to be precisely the kind of action to which forum non conveniens (§ 71.051, CPRC) should apply. The accident occurred in Mexico; the witnesses and evidence are entirely in Mexico; the owner and operator of the bus is a Mexican stock company located in Mexico City; the investigation of the accident, conducted by Mexican police, occurred in Mexico; and plaintiff has an adequate remedy under Mexican law.
We will follow the progress of this case with great attention and keep you advised.
