05 B 27545, 06 A 00412

In re Teknek, LLC; Phillip Levey, Trustee v. Sheila Hamilton et al. Defendants, who are citizens of the United Kingdom, moved to dismiss Trustee’s adversary complaint for lack of personal jurisdiction or, in the alternative, on grounds of forum non conveniens. The court found under Bankruptcy Rule 7004, 28 U.S.C. § 1334(b) and the Fifth Amendment of the United States Constitution that it could exercise personal jurisdiction over the defendants. The court additionally held that even though insolvency proceedings were pending in the United Kingdom for a foreign company with essentially the same ownership structure as the chapter 7 debtor and that the United Kingdom would provide an adequate alternative forum, the balancing of private and public factors was such that dismissal based on forum non conveniens would not be appropriate.