Courts apply the equitable doctrine of forum non conveniens when necessary to prevent the imposition of an inconvenient jurisdiction on a litigant. A trial court may, in its discretion, dismiss a case even when contacts between the defendant and the forum state exist that may confer personal jurisdiction upon the trial court, if the case itself has no significant connection to the forum.

A resident plaintiff’s forum choice deserves deference, all else being more or less equal, but that choice does not foreclose a defendant from demonstrating that the private and public interest factors favor dismissal when another forum’s interests predominate.

In New Jersey, the doctrine of forum non conveniens allows courts to dismiss a case if it determines that the forum chosen by the plaintiff is highly inconvenient and that another forum would be more appropriate for the resolution of the case. This doctrine is applied even when the court has personal jurisdiction over the defendant and the defendant has sufficient contacts with the state. The court will consider both private interest factors, such as the convenience for parties and witnesses, and public interest factors, such as administrative and legal system burdens, when making its decision. While a New Jersey resident plaintiff's choice of forum is given deference, it is not absolute. The defendant has the opportunity to show that the balance of private and public interest factors strongly favors the case being heard in a different jurisdiction. Ultimately, the decision to dismiss a case based on forum non conveniens lies within the discretion of the trial court and is made on a case-by-case basis.