Law360 Canada ( November 20, 2024, 2:37 PM EST) -- Appeal by appellants from an order dismissing an application to stay proceedings in Canada in favour of China as the more appropriate forum. The appellant, Li Xiangdong, was the respondent China Mobile Group Sichuan Company Limited's ("China Mobile") former employee. In 2010, China Mobile uncovered suspicious activity implicating Li in accepting bribes and money laundering, assisted by his wife, the appellant Yao Hong. After China Mobile requested further information, the appellants left China and traveled to Canada, where they have resided since. Criminal investigations ensued in China regarding Li's suspected receipt of bribes and Yao's suspected money laundering. China Mobile initiated a civil claim in British Columbia in 2021, seeking remedies under Chinese law for breach of contract, fraud, unjust enrichment, and fraudulent conveyance, and under British Columbia law for trust remedies concerning the appellants’ properties in British Columbia. The appellants argued British Columbia lacked jurisdiction or should decline it based on forum non conveniens, claiming China was the proper forum. The chambers judge, however, dismissed the application, emphasising the appellants’ likely non-participation in any Chinese proceedings. The judge noted that the appellants had not provided any assurances that they would defend the case in China and considered the difficulty of enforcing a Chinese judgment in Canada and the Appellants’ potential arrest if they returned to China. Despite acknowledging that many factors favoured China, the judge concluded that the appellants had not demonstrated that China was a clearly more appropriate forum. On appeal, the appellants argued that the chambers judge erred by considering irrelevant factors such as their unwillingness to commit to participating in hypothetical Chinese proceedings and the difficulty of enforcing a Chinese judgment. They also contended that the judge failed to consider a temporary stay pending an attempt to commence civil proceedings in China and relied on unreliable evidence. China Mobile contended that the judge appropriately exercised his discretion....