Defendant-husband's cross-motion to dismiss this divorce action on forum non conveniens grounds, pursuant to CPLR 327, is granted. The parties are Brazilian citizens who were married in Brazil. The one child of the marriage is emancipated. Upon defendant's relocation by his employer, the parties lived here as a married couple for less than four years of their 20-year marriage, their child left for college soon after the parties and she moved here, and the defendant, whose work in international finance takes him around the world, has not worked or lived here since 2021.
Moreover, throughout the marriage, the parties maintained significant assets in Brazil, including a home, a real estate parcel, a stake in a real estate development company, a car, and several bank and other accounts. The defendant, who commenced a divorce action in Brazil after this action was filed, submitted the affidavit of his Brazilian attorney attesting that, pursuant to Brazilian law, Brazilian courts have exclusive jurisdiction over the distribution of those assets. The attorney further attests that, even were the New York court to issue a divorce judgment, the Brazilian property distribution issues would nevertheless have to be litigated in Brazil. Plaintiff wife's response to this point, her own unsupported assertion that the husband's and his Brazilian matrimonial counsel's description was false, based on her unspecified understanding, is meritless. Further, the plaintiff does not substantiate her assertion that discovery and litigating in Brazil are less efficient or otherwise inferior to discovery and litigating here.
Teixeira v. Teixeira, NY Slip Op 00040 (1st Dep't January 3, 2024)
