Wood v. E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co.

56 Pa. D. & C.4th 415, 2001 Pa. Dist. & Cnty. Dec. LEXIS 357
CourtPennsylvania Court of Common Pleas, Philadelphia County
DecidedJune 22, 2001
Docketno. 001954
StatusPublished

This text of 56 Pa. D. & C.4th 415 (Wood v. E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co.) 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
Wood v. E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co., 56 Pa. D. & C.4th 415, 2001 Pa. Dist. & Cnty. Dec. LEXIS 357 (Pa. Super. Ct. 2001).

Opinion

TERESHKO, J.,

This case presents an appeal from this court’s order of May 3, 2001, granting defendant’s petition, after oral argument, for change of venue to Bradford County pursuant to Pa.R.C.P. 1006 (d)(1).

This personal injury action was brought in Philadelphia County against the defendant, E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company, by plaintiffs Jason Wood Sr. and Holly Wood. The defendant petitioned this court for a transfer of venue to Bradford County pursuant to Pa.R.C.P. 1006(d)(1), alleging plaintiffs’ choice of venue in Philadelphia was vexatious and oppressive. On March 17, 2000, this court denied defendant’s first petition for change of venue without prejudice. Subsequently, on March 5, 2001 of the following year, defendant filed a second petition for a transfer of venue to Bradford County with answer filed by plaintiffs on April 4, 2001. In light [417]*417of newly detailed information on the record established at oral argument on April 27, 2001, along with defendant’s specification of key witnesses and their potential testimony, this court granted the defendant’s petition for transfer of venue on May 3,2001. Pursuant to Pa.R.A.P. 1925(b), this court received plaintiffs’ statement of matters complained of upon appeal on June 1, 2001. This opinion will consolidate all issues raised by plaintiffs in the instant case.

The relevant facts relating to this cause of action are as follows: this matter was commenced by the plaintiffs to recover for injuries suffered as a result of a fall. Plaintiff Jason Wood alleges that on January 8,1998, he tripped and fell on a hole in the shipping area lot of the defendant’s plant in To wanda, Bradford County, Pennsylvania, while making a pick-up for his employer, a New Jersey company. Plaintiffs then filed a civil suit in Philadelphia County against defendant seeking damages incurred from the alleged fall. Plaintiffs were, at the time of the accident, and continue to be, residents in the State of Delaware. Defendant is a foreign corporation with a registered office in Philadelphia County.

The doctrine of forum non conveniens is embodied in Pa.R.C.P. 1006(d)(1) which states, “for the convenience of parties and witnesses, the court upon petition of any party, may transfer an action to the appropriate court of any other county where the action could have originally been brought.” The supplement to this rule, Pa.R.C.P. 2179(a), provides “except as otherwise provided by an Act of assembly or by subdivision (b) of this rule, a personal action against a corporation or similar entity may be brought in and only in:

[418]*418“(1) the comity where registered office or principal' place of business is located;
“(2) a county where it regularly conducts business;
“(3) the county where the cause of action arose; or
“(4) a county where the transaction or occurrence took place out of which the cause of action arose.”
“[0]ne of the most important factors in determining whether a dismissal on ground of forum non conveniens is appropriate is whether an alternative forum is available to the plaintiff.” Goodman by Goodman v. Pizzutillo, 452 Pa. Super. 436, 446, 682 A.2d 363, 367-68 (1996) (quoting Farley v. McDonnell Douglas Truck Services Inc., 432 Pa. Super. 456, 638 A.2d 1027 (1994) (citing Plum v. Tampax Inc., 399 Pa. 553, 160 A.2d 549 (1960)). A court reviewing a change of venue petition has considerable discretion when determining whether to grant the petition. Although the plaintiffs’ choice of forum should be given significant weight there are many factors a court must look to when reviewing a petition to transfer venue. Wills v. Kaschak, 420 Pa. Super. 540, 617 A.2d 37 (1992).

In Cheeseman v. Lethal Exterminator Inc., 549 Pa. 200, 701 A.2d 156 (1997), the Pennsylvania Supreme Court established the standard this court must use when ruling on a petition to transfer venue pursuant to Pa.R.C.P. 1006(d)(1). Under this standard, the defendant must successfully show with detailed information on the record that the plaintiff’s forum is oppressive or vexatious to them. Id. at 213, 701 A.2d at 162. A plaintiff’s chosen forum is oppressive to the defendant, for instance, if “trial in another county would provide easier access to wit[419]*419nesses or other sources of proof, or to the ability to conduct a view of premises involved in the dispute.” Id. at 213, 701 A.2d at 162. For example, the record may include the affidavits of witnesses or the deposition testimony of witnesses. Rummer v. St. Joseph Regional Health Network, 2001 WL 614888, *2 (Pa. Super.) (citing Johnson v. Henkels & McCoy Inc., 707 A.2d 237 (Pa. Super. 1997)).

Claims that “no significant aspect of the case involves the chosen forum, and that litigating in another forum would be more convenient” are not sufficient to establish that the chosen forum is oppressive or vexatious. Cheeseman, supra at 213, 701 A.2d at 162. The defendant must show more than the chosen forum is merely inconvenient. Id. The doctrine of forum non conveniens provides the court with a means of looking beyond the technical considerations such as jurisdictions and venues to determine whether litigation in the plaintiff’s chosen forum would serve the interest of justice under the particular circumstances. Alford v. Philadelphia Coca-Cola Bottling Co. Inc., 366 Pa. Super. 510, 513, 531 A.2d 792, 794 (1987).

In the present case, the plaintiffs chose to bring suit in Philadelphia County; however, this action could have been brought in Bradford County, where the cause of action arose. Therefore, an alternative forum was, and is still, available to the plaintiffs.

The hotly disputed issue in this case is whether a hole existed at defendant’s plant on the day of plaintiff’s fall. Defendant’s case will attempt to prove that such a hole never existed prior to, or at the time of, plaintiff’s al[420]*420leged fall in the shipping lot on January 8, 1998. As a result, defendant plans to call expert witness, Malcolm Lim, who conducted a ground-penetrating radar test of the pavement. (See exp. rep. of M. Lim.)

Defendant has also shown with detailed information on the record they plan to call the following plant employees: John Flanagan, to testify there were no problems with the 1997 paving job, and that the shipping area has not been repaved since 1997 (dep. of J. Flanagan at 18, 20); John Keegan, to testify that no construction permits have been issued for repaving or any other type of repair since the alleged accident (dep. of J. Keegan at 14-16); George Watson, to testify that no such work has been done in the relevant area since the time of the alleged accident (aff. of G.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Cheeseman v. Lethal Exterminator, Inc.
701 A.2d 156 (Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, 1997)
Farley v. McDonnell Douglas Truck Services, Inc.
638 A.2d 1027 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 1994)
Alford v. Philadelphia Coca-Cola Bottling Co.
531 A.2d 792 (Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, 1987)
Johnson v. Henkels & McCoy, Inc.
707 A.2d 237 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 1997)
GOODMAN BY GOODMAN v. Pizzutillo
682 A.2d 363 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 1996)
Lobozzo v. Adam Eidemiller, Inc.
263 A.2d 432 (Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, 1970)
Plum v. Tampax, Inc.
160 A.2d 549 (Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, 1960)
Wills v. Kaschak
617 A.2d 37 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 1992)
Johns v. First Union Corp.
777 A.2d 489 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2001)
Gorgas v. Phila. R.
22 A. 715 (Cumberland County Court of Common Pleas, 1891)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
56 Pa. D. & C.4th 415, 2001 Pa. Dist. & Cnty. Dec. LEXIS 357, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/wood-v-ei-du-pont-de-nemours-co-pactcomplphilad-2001.