Oliver Hilsenrath v. Equity Trust (Jersey) Limited

FILED NOT FOR PUBLICATION NOV 02 2010 MOLLY C. DWYER, CLERK UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS U .S. C O U R T OF APPE ALS FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT OLIVER HILSENRATH, No. 08-15726 Plaintiff - Appellant, D.C. No. 07-CV-04162-CW v. MEMORANDUM * EQUITY TRUST (JERSEY) LIMITED and CANDOVER INVESTMENTS PLC, Defendants - Appellees. HANA HILSENRATH and OLIVER No. 08-15728 HILSENRATH, D.C. No. 07-CV-03312-CW Plaintiffs - Appellants, v. EQUITY TRUST (JERSEY) LIMITED; et al., Defendants - Appellees. Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of California Claudia A. Wilken, District Judge, Presiding * This disposition is not appropriate for publication and is not precedent except as provided by 9th Cir. R. 36-3. Submitted October 19, 2010 ** Before: O’SCANNLAIN, TALLMAN and BEA, Circuit Judges. Oliver and Hana Hilsenrath appeal pro se the district court’s Orders dismissing their actions against Equity Trust and other foreign corporations and citizens, alleging RICO violations, malicious prosecution, extortion, obstruction of justice and violations of due process arising from a 2001 settlement agreement. We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291. Our review is de novo, Pebble Beach Co. v. Caddy, 453 F.3d 1151, 1154 (9th Cir. 2006), and we affirm. The district court properly dismissed the claims against Candover Investments PLC, Insinger de Beaufort Holdings SA, and Jardine Matheson Holdings Limited because it lacked personal jurisdiction over these non-resident defendants. See Yahoo! Inc. v. La Ligue Contre Le Racisme, 433 F.3d 1199, 1205 (9th Cir. 2006) (requiring a non-resident to have “substantial, continuous, and systematic” contacts in a forum for a court to exercise general jurisdiction, and “purposefully direct” activities and transactions within the forum for a court to exercise specific jurisdiction). ** The panel unanimously concludes this case is suitable for decision without oral argument. See Fed. R. App. P. 34(a)(2). -2- 08-15726, 08-15728 The district court also properly dismissed the claims against Equity Trust (Jersey) Limited and its executives on the ground that Jersey is an adequate alternative forum and the balance of private and public interest factors favors dismissal. See Piper Aircraft Co. v. Reyno, 454 U.S. 235, 254 n. 22, 257 (1981). AFFIRMED 1. 1 Appellee’s motion to take judicial notice is denied as unecessary. -3- 08-15726, 08-15728