Massachusetts Federal Court Dismisses Suit By Japanese Plaintiffs Against Massachusetts Reactor Designer For Japanese Disaster Based On Forum Non Conveniens, Citing Japanese Compensation System That Provided Alternative Forum Albeit Only Against Different Party, Difficulties In Obtaining Evidence From Japan And Weak Local Interest In Suit -

In Shinya Imamura v. GE, 371 F. Supp. 3d 1 (D. Mass. 2019), multiple Japanese individuals and businesses sued a nuclear reactor designer headquartered in Massachusetts for property damage and economic harm caused by the 2011 tsunami and resulting nuclear disaster at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. Plaintiffs alleged defendant negligently designed the plant’s reactors and safety mechanisms, including by lowering the bluff over the ocean where the plant was built, placing emergency generators and seawater pumps in the basement without protection against flooding, not ensuring a backup power source in case the generators failed, and not including sufficient space for emergency equipment.