Tiber Creek Partners, LLC v. Ellume USA LLC
- Summarized by Caleb Chaplain , U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Western District of Virginia
- 7 months 4 days ago
- Case Type:
- Business
- Case Status:
- Affirmed
- Citation:
- 23-1882 (4th Circuit, Jul 16,2025) Not Published
- Tag(s):
-
- Ruling:
- The Fourth Circuit affirmed the district court’s dismissal of two consolidated cases under the doctrine of forum non conveniens, finding that the suits were better suited for litigation in Australia. The court held that the district court did not abuse its discretion in determining that Australia was a more convenient forum despite Tiber Creek’s choice to sue in its home forum of Virginia.
- Procedural context:
- Tiber Creek filed two separate lawsuits in the Eastern District of Virginia against Ellume entities. The first case sought breach of contract damages against Ellume USA for unpaid consulting fees. The second case alleged fraud in connection with a Deed of Variation that transferred debt from Ellume USA to the later bankrupt Ellume Ltd. The cases were consolidated, and defendants moved to dismiss on forum non conveniens grounds. After the district court dismissed both cases, Tiber Creek appealed and also sought to amend the judgment based on changed circumstances in the Australian bankruptcy proceedings.
- Facts:
- Tiber Creek, a Virginia consulting firm, provided services to help Australian company Ellume Ltd. and its U.S. subsidiary Ellume USA secure approximately $260 million in U.S. government funding for COVID-19 diagnostic tests. The parties had multiple agreements spanning from 2014 to 2022, with various forum selection clauses favoring Australian jurisdiction. When Ellume USA allegedly fell into financial difficulty, the parties executed a Deed of Variation transferring Ellume USA’s debt to Ellume Ltd., which subsequently entered voluntary administration (bankruptcy) in Australia.
- Judge(s):
- Wilkinson, Richardson, Rushing
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