Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Colorado

Fraud in a foreign country

If a U.S. citizen from Colorado defrauds a U.S. citizen from Oregon in Mexico, does the defrauded person have recourse to sue in a U.S. Court? If I live in Oregon and the person I want to sue lives in Colorado, which state do I take action in? I am of course pursuing this the Mexican legal system. Thanks for any info i can get. Nobody seems to know the answer to this question.


Asked on 7/26/01, 10:48 am

1 Answer from Attorneys

Louise Aron Attorney at Law

International jurisdiction

Louise Aron

Attorney at Law

Lakewood Office:

1536 South Ingalls

Lakewood, Colorado 80232 USA

(303) 922 7687

fax (303) 922-1370

Cherry Creek Office:

300 South Jackson #100

Denver, Colorado 80209 USA

(303) 780-7339

Satellite offices:

Boulder - 4450 Arapahoe Avenue, #100

DTC - 4610 South Ulster, #150

A TOLL FREE NUMBER is available to clients outside the Denver metro area.

My web site http://effectnet.com/la/

My email: [email protected]

LawGuru User

Dear LawGuru User:

You have asked a question which can best be answered by an international litigator. Please try reposting under international law.

I am a transactional lawyer for international trade, and a transactional real estate lawyer as well, but your question pertains more to litigation.

What I do know is this. Jurisdictional issues are rarely cut and dried. Even within the United States, a citizen of one state (State #1) may sue a citizen of another state (State #2) in what the attorney thought was the "proper" jurisdiction and be thrown out of court for being in the wrong forum. Sometimes changing the forum to State #2 causes #2 to throw the case back to #1. U.S. Federal Courts are supposed to handle interstate disputes but there are complex jurisdictional issues touching on many Federal cases as well.

In every international contract, I specify the "venue" (the place) for settling disputes and which law governs the agreement. If your transaction in Mexico involved signing documents, the documents may specify which law governs and where disputes shall be arbitrated or litigated.

International disputes are far more difficult to solve when the forum has not been agreed to contractually. Without knowing whether Mexican law or US law applies to your problem, I'm not sure any lawyer can identify with certainty the proper jurisdiction.

Thank you for contacting LawGuru.

Sincerely,

Louise Aron

Attorney at Law

My web site http://effectnet.com/la/

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Answered on 8/07/01, 5:31 pm


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