Bauer v. Herr-Voss Stamco, Inc.

44 Pa. D. & C.5th 171
CourtPennsylvania Court of Common Pleas, Philadelphia County
DecidedJanuary 6, 2015
DocketNo. 01169
StatusPublished

This text of 44 Pa. D. & C.5th 171 (Bauer v. Herr-Voss Stamco, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Pennsylvania Court of Common Pleas, Philadelphia County primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Bauer v. Herr-Voss Stamco, Inc., 44 Pa. D. & C.5th 171 (Pa. Super. Ct. 2015).

Opinion

MASSIAH-JACKSON, J.,

ORDER

And now, this 6th of January, 2015, after consideration of the preliminary objections filed by Herr-Voss Stamco, Inc., and plaintiffs’ responses thereto, after review of all supplemental memoranda and Exhibits, and oral argument held December, 3, 2014, and, for the reasons set forth in court Exhibit “A”, attached hereto, it is hereby ordered that the preliminary objections are overruled in their entirety. The defendant shall file an answer to the first amended complaint within twenty (20) days from the date this order is docketed.

Court Exhibit “A”

Mr. Francis Bauer was employed at Prior Coated Metals, Inc., Allentown, Pennsylvania, where he operated industrial metal processing machines. On December 4, 2013, Mr. Bauer was operating a Strand Extensioner. This machinery is part of a slitting line in metal coil processing. Slitting is a process that uses rotating knives to cut metals and produces “tightly wound, straight-sided slit coils of metal for industrial use.” First amended complaint, Paragraphs 9, 10, 11.

[174]*174When Mr. Bauer was cleaning the rollers of the Strand Extensioner, the cleaning towel was pulled into the rollers. Mr. Bauer’s gloved right hand was also pulled into the slitter machinery. As a result of this accident, Mr. Bauer suffered catastrophic and permanent physical and emotional injuries, including inter alia, crush injuries to his hand, loss of four fingers, nerve damage, skin grafts, as well as past and future economic losses. Paragraphs 14, 18, 19,21-26.

In July, 2014, plaintiff-Bauer initiated this strict liability and negligence litigation against defendant-Herr-Voss Stamco, Inc. alleging that the defendant defectively and negligently designed, manufactured, sold, serviced, inspected and maintained the Strand Extensioner.

On December 3, 2014, at the request of the defendant, this court heard oral argument on two defense motions: a) defendant-Herr-Voss’ motion for reconsideration of the court’s order dated November 6, 2014, which denied the defendant’s petition to transfer venue (Control No. 14111876) and, b) defendant-Herr-Voss’ preliminary objections Pursuant to Rule 2179(a)(2). (Control No. 14092783). After careful consideration of all of the memoranda, supplemental memoranda, Exhibits and oral presentations submitted by all parties, this court concludes that venue is proper in Philadelphia County.

A. Forum Non Conveniens (Control No. 14111876)

On November 6, 2014, defendant’s petition to transfer venue to Lehigh County was denied when Her-Voss Stamco, Inc. was unable to meet its burden to establish [175]*175that Philadelphia was more than merely inconvenient to this defendant, citing Bratic v. Rubendall, 99 A.3d 1 (Pa. 2014); Cheeseman v. Exterminator, Inc., 701 A.2d 156 (Pa. 1997).

In Zappala v. Brandolini Property Management, Inc., 909 A.2d 1272 (Pa. 2006), the Supreme Court relied on Cheeseman, supra to explain that a Rule 1006(d)(1) motion provides a trial court with discretion to transfer an action to another county if a defendant meets its burden with detailed information on the record. The record must demonstrate that the plaintiffs chosen forum is oppressive or vexatious. The Zappala Court at 909 A.2d 1283, quoted Cheeseman at 701 A.2d 162, by noting that the defendant may show that the plaintiff’s choice of forum is vexatious by:

“establishing with facts on the record that the plaintiff’s choice of forum was designed to harass the defendant, even at some inconvenience to the plaintiff himself. Alternatively, the defendant may meet his burden by establishing on the record that trial in the chosen forum is oppressive to him; for instance, that trial in another county would provide easier access to witnesses or other sources of proof, or to the ability to conduct a view of premises involved in the dispute. But, we stress that the defendant must show more than that the chosen forum is merely inconvenient to him.”

In the case at bar, defendant-Herr-Voss failed to provide an evidentiary foundation to support its argument that the burden of travel or time out of the office or a [176]*176possible disruption to business or obtaining witnesses or sources of proof would be any greater if the trial were held in Philadelphia County than in Lehigh County. No record was presented for this court to weigh where plaintiff-Bauer’s co-workers or supervisors reside; or, the names of any of the Herr-Voss inspectors, mechanics and employees and where they are located; or, the location of documents, correspondence and records reflecting communications between defendant and Prior Coated Metals, Inc. and whether those documents are electronic or hard-copy or both; or, the location of the engineering plans and specifications, originals, modifications, and patent documents; or, the location of documents relating to Herr-Voss Corporation — electronic or hard-copy?

The Bratic Court clarified the requirements of forum non conveniens 99 A.3d at 6, noting “emphatically” that a plaintiffs choice of forum is entitled to weighty consideration. The party seeking to transfer has a burden to demonstrate “on the record’ (emphasis in original) the hardship claimed. This court disagrees that a decision based solely on google maps is appropriate. The Bratic Court commented at 99 A.3d 10, “distance alone is not dispositive.” While Lehigh County is not a neighbor of Philadelphia County, there was nothing presented in this record for this court to comprehend how travel for an hour is more than simply an inconvenience to any witness.

The Bratic Court noted at 99 A.3d 8, that the fact that the plaintiffs were not from Philadelphia was a peripheral factor to the issue of transfer. When considering access to proof, this court has personally presided on multiple [177]*177occasions where large trucks, cars and airplanes have been brought into our courtroom or, if necessary, onto the exterior sidewalks for jury views. Most experienced attorneys find that 3-D animations, as well as video and photographs brought to the large screen in Philadelphia courtrooms provide clarity and understanding for the jurors and the expert witness testimony.

When considering access to justice in the Philadelphia Courts, 99 A.3d at 8, this complex litigation will be placed on track for trial in 24 to 36 months by the first judicial district’s differentiated case management protocol. The parties will be given discovery deadlines, expert deadlines and a trial date certain. All witnesses will have several months notice for pre-trial and trial scheduling.

Contrary to the notion proffered by Herr-Voss, the Supreme Court in Bratic clearly endorsed the presentation of affidavits to enable a court to have a record on which to consider how a potential witness’ personal life or business duties would be affected by trial in Philadelphia. 99 A.3d at 9.

With regard to medical issues, there is no question that records, including films and reports, are easily sent to counsel.

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Related

Cheeseman v. Lethal Exterminator, Inc.
701 A.2d 156 (Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, 1997)
Zappala v. Brandolini Property Management, Inc.
909 A.2d 1272 (Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, 2006)
Zampana-Barry v. Donaghue
921 A.2d 500 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2007)
Bratic, A. v. Rubendall, C., Aplt.
99 A.3d 1 (Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, 2014)
Canter v. American Honda Motor Corp.
231 A.2d 140 (Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, 1967)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
44 Pa. D. & C.5th 171, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/bauer-v-herr-voss-stamco-inc-pactcomplphilad-2015.