Despite the Absence of a Motion to Dismiss on Forum Non Conveniens Grounds, the Court Properly Dismssed the Action on that Ground (After Briefing by the Parties)/The Fact that the Underlying Transaction Was to Be In American Dollars Was Not Enough to Justify Bringing the Action (Involving Foreign Banks and Parties) in New York State

The Court of Appeals, in a full-fledged opinion by Judge Smith, determined Supreme Court properly dismissed the action on “forum non conveniens” grounds, even though no motion to dismiss on that ground had been made.  Although Supreme Court raised the issue, the court asked to parties to brief it.  In addition, the Court of Appeals noted that, although the underlying dispute involved millions of dollars, the fact that American dollars were involved was not enough to hold the case in New York State.  The dispute was between a bank in Dubai and a partnership (AHAB) in Saudi Arabia.  The third-party defendant, Al-Sanea, was a citizen of Saudi Arabia, and another third-party defendant, Awal Bank BSC, was headquartered in Bahrain:

We held in VSL Corp. v Dunes Hotels & Casinos, Inc. (70 NY2d 948 [1988]) that it was error for the Appellate Division to dismiss a complaint sua sponte on forum non conveniens grounds, adding that such a dismissal may occur “only upon the motion of a party” (id. at 949). Here, though no party formally moved to dismiss plaintiff’s complaint because of the inconvenience of the forum, the issue was briefed and argued at Supreme Court. We hold that VSL did not bar the court from dismissing the complaint under these circumstances. We also hold that, on this record, Supreme Court was correct as a matter of law in dismissing both the complaint and the third-party complaint. *  *  *

While the idea of dismissing the main complaint on forum non conveniens grounds was first mentioned by the Supreme Court Justice, he gave the parties a full opportunity to address the issue — indeed, he asked them to do so. Al-Sanea argued in favor of dismissing the complaint on forum non conveniens grounds, though he did not serve motion papers seeking that relief. We see no reason to read CPLR 327(a) as prohibiting a forum non conveniens dismissal where only the formality of a document labeled “notice of motion” was lacking, and where AHAB, the only party opposed to dismissal, neither objected to nor was prejudiced by the omission of that formality. * * *

Our State’s interest in the integrity of its banks is indeed compelling, but it is not significantly threatened every time one foreign national, effecting what is alleged to be a fraudulent transaction, moves dollars through a bank in New York. Indeed, the parties here agree that, as a practical matter, any dollar transaction comparable in size to the one now at issue must go through New York … . That does not mean that every major fraud case in the world in which dollars are involved belongs in the New York courts. New York’s interest in its banking system “is not a trump to be played whenever a party to such a transaction seeks to use our courts for a lawsuit with little or no apparent contact with New York” … . Mashreqbank PSC v Ahmed Hamad Al Gosaib i & Bros Co, 2014 NY Slip Op 02381, CtApp 4-8-14