Fireman's Fund, et al v. Thyssen Mining Construction, et al, No. 12-2021 (10th Cir. 2012)
Annotate this CasePlaintiffs Fireman's Fund Insurance Company and Zurich Insurance Company Ltd., as subrogees of Boart Longyear, Inc., sued Defendants Thyssen Mining Construction of Canada Ltd. and Mudjatik Thyssen Mining Joint Venture (MTM) in New Mexico for negligence relating to the collapse of a mine that MTM was excavating in Canada. The district court dismissed MTM for lack of personal jurisdiction and dismissed the entire case under the forum non conveniens doctrine. The Plaintiffs appealed. Finding that Plaintiffs' arguments "stretch[ed] the agency theory too far," the Tenth Circuit affirmed the dismissal of MTM for lack of personal jurisdiction, but reversed the dismissal of Plaintiffs' complaint under forum non conveniens. "The district court's dismissal of Plaintiffs' claims was premature because [a] Canadian court has not yet ruled on Defendants' statute of limitations defense. Until this ruling occurs, the availability of the Canadian court as an adequate alternative forum is unclear and dismissal of the case in New Mexico risks depriving the Plaintiffs of any forum."
Some case metadata and case summaries were written with the help of AI, which can produce inaccuracies. You should read the full case before relying on it for legal research purposes.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.