Duty, P. v. Toyota Advanced Logistics ( 2021 )

J-A13035-21
NON-PRECEDENTIAL DECISION - SEE SUPERIOR COURT I.O.P. 65.37
PATRICIA DUTY AND DEBRA MILLER, : IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF
INDIVIDUALLY AND AS : PENNSYLVANIA
ADMINISTRATORS OF THE ESTATE :
OF JENNIFER WRIGHT :
:
Appellants :
:
:
v. : No. 1453 EDA 2020
:
:
TOYOTA ADVANCED LOGISTICS, :
BASTIAN SOLUTIONS, PEACH STATE :
INTEGRATED TECHNOLOGIES, :
TOYORA INDUSTRIAL EQUIPMAN :
MFG. INC., RAYMOND :
CORPORATION, RAYMOND- :
MUSCATINE, INC., LIFT, INC., :
PACIFIC RIM CAPITAL INC., :
ALEJANDRO SACHEZ BELTRAN, :
HAMILTON CASTER, TOYOTA MOTOR :
CORP., TOYOTA INDUSTRIES, CORP., :
TOYOTA FORKLIFTS, TOYOTA :
MATERIAL HANDLING USA, INC., :
TOYOTA INDUSTRIES NORTH :
AMERICA
Appeal from the Order Entered June 10, 2020
In the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County Civil Division at
No(s): 180703197 & 180502276
BEFORE: BENDER, P.J.E., DUBOW, J., and STEVENS, P.J.E.*
MEMORANDUM BY STEVENS, P.J.E.: FILED SEPTEMBER 3, 2021
Plaintiff/Appellants Patricia Duty and Debra Miller, individually and as
administrators of the estate of Decedent, Jennifer Wright, appeal from
____________________________________________
* Former Justice specially assigned to the Superior Court.
J-A13035-21
the order entered in the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County
granting Defendant/Appellees’ motion to transfer venue to York County on the
basis of forum non conveniens. After careful consideration, we affirm.
The trial court provides an apt factual and procedural history, as
follows:
[This action originated from two actions filed against Johnson
Controls, Inc., et al (the first action) and Toyota Industries,
Corp., et al, (the second action) respectively, that were
consolidated below in the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia
County.] These two consolidated actions stem[med] from
Jennifer Wright’s (“Decedent”) death on July 27, 2016 at a facility
in York, Pennsylvania after a HVAC unit weighing over 3,000
pounds fell from a pallet onto Decedent while the HVAC unit was
being transferred by a [Toyota] forklift.
Plaintiff-Appellants Patricia Duty and Debra Miller (“Appellants”)
commenced the [first] action, Case Number 180502276, on
behalf of the Estate of Decedent by Writ of Summons filed in the
Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas on May 22, 2018. Appellants
then filed a Complaint on September 10, 2018 stating causes of
action for negligence, wrongful death, survival action, and fraud
against numerous defendants. Appellants filed an Amended
Complaint on November 26, 2018, and a Second Amended
Complaint on January 3, 2019.
Appellants commenced the [second] action, Case Number
180703197, by filing of Writ of Summons in the Philadelphia Court
of Common Pleas on July 27, 2018.
These two actions were consolidated by order of the court on
September 20, 2018. Appellants filed a Complaint in the second
action on January 10, 2019, stating causes of action for
negligence, breach of implied warranty of merchantability,
wrongful death, and survival action against numerous
defendants.
[On November 13, 2019, after initially denying all preliminary
objections filed in the first action, the court entered a subsequent
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order granting defendants’ motions for reconsideration, sustaining
all preliminary objections, and thereby dismissing all defendants
in the first action.]
On September 16, 2019, Defendant-Appellee Toyota Industries
Corporation (“TICO”), a defendant in the second action, filed
Preliminary Objections arguing for dismissal due to improper
service and lack of personal jurisdiction. [The trial court] entered
an order dated June 10, 2020 sustaining TICO’s Preliminary
Objections and dismissing Appellants’ claims against TICO with
prejudice.
On January 24, 2020, Defendant-Appellees Toyota Material
Handling, U.S.A., Inc. (“TMH”) and Toyota Industrial Equipment
Mfg., Inc. (“TIEM”), defendants in the second action, filed a Motion
to Transfer Venue to York County based on
forum non conveniens. Appellants filed a Response to said Motion
on February 13, 2020, and TMH and TIEM filed a Supplemental
Brief in Support of their Motion on February 25, 2020. [The trial
court] entered an order dated June 10, 2020 and docketed June
15, 2020 granting TMH and TIEM’s Motion to Transfer Venue[,
t]hereby transferring the second action to York County.
On July 10, 2020, Appellants filed two Notices of Appeal with the
Pennsylvania Superior Court—one filed in the first case, Case
Number 180502276, and one filed in the second case, Case
Number 180703197. On July 14, 2020, [the trial
court] ordered Appellants to file a Concise Statement of Matters
Complained of on Appeal pursuant to Pa.R.A.P. 1925(b) for both
Notices of Appeal. On August 3, 2020, Appellants filed their
Statement of Matters.[]
Trial Court Opinion, 12/16/20, at 1-4.
Appellants raise the following issue for this Court’s consideration:
Whether the trial court abused its discretion or committed an error
of law in granting Appellees/Defendants’, Toyota material
handling, U.S.A., Inc. and Toyota Industrial Equipment Mfg., Inc.,
motion to transfer venue, pursuant to Pa.R.C.P. 1006(d)(1) based
on forum non conveniens, as the Appellees did not put any facts
on the record to meet their burden in demonstrating that the
plaintiff’s chosen forum of Philadelphia County is oppressive and
vexatious[.]
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Appellants’ brief, at 4.
Before we address the merits of this appeal, we must determine if
Appellants have complied with the Official Note to Pa.R.A.P. 341(a)
and Commonwealth v. Walker, 185 A.3d 969 (Pa. 2018), which
mandate that when a single order resolves issues arising on more than one
lower court docket, separate notices of appeal must be filed, with failure to do
so resulting in quashal of the appeal. On July 10, 2020, Appellants filed two
Notices of Appeal with this Court—one filed in the first case, Case Number
180502276, and one filed in the second case, Case Number 180703197. This
Court assigned appeal number 1452 EDA 2019 to the first notice of appeal
(“companion appeal”) and 1453 EDA 2019 to this, the second, notice of appeal
(“present appeal”).
Through the two appeals, Appellants purported to appeal from (1) the
June 15, 2020 order transferring venue; (2) the June 11, 2020 order
sustaining preliminary objections of TICO, and dismissing claims against
TICO; (3) the November 13, 2019 order denying Appellants’ motion for
reconsideration of the October 4, 2019 orders dismissing the claims against
Johnson Controls Holding Company et al; (4) the November 8, 2019 order
granting the motion for reconsideration filed by additional defendants,
sustaining their preliminary objections, and dismissing the claims against
them; and (5) the September 10, 2019 order sustaining the preliminary
objections of Johnson Controls, Inc. and dismissing the claims against it.
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On September 16, 2019, we issued a rule in each appeal directing
Appellants to show cause why that appeal should not be quashed for any
one of several specified reasons. Specifically, we observed that only the June
15, 2020 order transferring venue appeared to qualify as an interlocutory
order appealable as of right under Pa.R.A.P. 311(c), while the remaining
orders were neither final orders nor appealable interlocutory
orders. Furthermore, the Appellants’ notice of appeal was untimely with
respect to the three 2019 orders listed above.
Apart from issues of appealability, we also questioned whether the
notices of appeal failed to comply with the Official Note to Pa.R.A.P. 341(a)
and with Walker. Order, 9/16/20. Appellants responded that its filing of two
appeals allowed this Court to exercise its discretion to consolidate the two
appeals filed, pursuant to Pa.R.A.P. 513. See Appellant’s Response, 9/28/20.
By our two per curiam orders of December 21, 2020, one entered in
each appeal, this Court quashed the companion appeal at No. 1452 EDA 2020,
and quashed-in-part the present appeal at No. 1453 EDA 2020, for want of
jurisdiction, to the extent that such appeals were untimely filed from the 2019
orders, taken from the non-appealable June 11, 2020 order, and involved
Appellant’s suit against the Johnson Controls, Inc. defendants, all of whom
had been dismissed.
In contrast, we observed that only the present appeal at No. 1453
involved the appealable June 15, 2020 order of the trial court transferring
venue. Specifically, we explained:
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[T]he June 15, 2020 order transferring venue was entered only on
docket no. 180703197 in the Philadelphia County Court of
Common Pleas and does not involve any of the [Johnson
Controls, Inc. defendants], which are identified as defendants only
in the action docketed at 180502276. Although Appellants listed
both trial court docket numbers on their notice of appeal [at
companion appeal No. 1452 EDA 2020], they attached only the
trial court docket for no. 180502276. At [the present appeal at]
No. 1453 EDA 2020, Appellants filed an identical notice of appeal
from the same orders but attached the trial court docket for no.
180703197, which corresponds to the June 15, 2020 order
transferring venue. Therefore, Appellants’ appeal from the June
15, 2020 order transferring venue will proceed at No. 1453
EDA 2020 only.
Accordingly, the [companion] appeal at No. 1452 EDA 2020 is
hereby QUASHED
...
The appeal at 1453 EDA 2020 is QUASHED IN PART with respect
to June 11, 2020; November 13, 2019; November 8, 2019; and
September 10, 2019 orders. The appeal at No. 1453 EDA 2020
will continue only with respect to the June 15, 2020 order
transferring venue entered at docket no. 180703197 in the
Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas.
Per Curiam Orders, 12/21/20, at 1-2.
The parties were advised that the issues raised in this Court’s September
16, 2020 show-cause order, including the application of Walker, may be
revisited by the merits panel, and that counsel should be prepared to address,
in their briefs or at the time of oral argument, any concerns the panel may
have regarding the issues. Order, 12/21/20, at 2. Neither party has raised
the Walker issue in its brief, but we discern through our sua sponte review of
the record that Appellants have complied with Walker and its progeny.
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This Court has held that including multiple docket numbers on
separately filed notices of appeal does not necessarily require quashal under
Walker. Commonwealth v. Johnson, 236 A.3d 1141 (Pa. Super. 2020)
(en banc) (overruling Commonwealth v. Creese, 216 A.3d 1142 (Pa. Super.
2019). See also Commonwealth v. Rebecca Johnson, 236 A.3d 63 (Pa.
Super. 2020) (en banc) (declining to quash despite all three docket numbers
appearing on each notice of appeal, where each notice of appeal bore a unique
indicia—a different time stamp and location of time stamp—establishing that
separate notices of appeal were filed).
Here, although the notices of appeal contained both trial court docket
numbers, Appellants differentiated the present notice of appeal—assigned
appeal number 1453 EDA 2020 by this Court—by attaching only to it the trial
court docket for no. 180703197, which, alone, corresponds to the June 15,
2020 order transferring venue. In this way, Appellants indicated to this Court
that two dockets were implicated and that separate appellate docket numbers
were required. See Povrzenich v. Ripepi, --- A.3d ----, 2021 WL 1047363(Pa. Super. filed March 19, 2021) (filing of two notices of appeal each listing
the two docket numbers was not grounds for quashal where judgment was
entered at the consolidated docket number and merely noted on the other
docket, which had been dormant for filing purposes; therefore, filing of two
separate notices of appeal bearing both docket numbers was sufficient to
convey that separate appellate docket numbers were required).
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Accordingly, we find the filing of two separate notices of appeal in the
case sub judice sufficient under Walker and decline to quash these appeals.
Appellants contend that the trial court erred when it transferred venue
based on forum non conveniens because Appellees failed to place any facts on
the record to meet their burden of demonstrating the chosen forum of
Philadelphia County was vexatious or oppressive. The following principles
govern a trial court's ruling on a petition to transfer venue
for forum non conveniens.
We review a trial court’s transferring venue due
to forum non conveniens for an abuse of discretion. Walls
v. Phoenix Ins. Co., 979 A.2d 847, 850 n. 3 (Pa. Super. 2009)
(internal citation and quotation marks omitted). We will uphold a
trial court's order transferring venue based
on forum non conveniens “[i]f there exists any proper basis” for
the trial court's determination. Connor v. Crozer Keystone
Health Sys., 832 A.2d 1112, 1116 (Pa. Super. 2003) (internal
citation omitted). “[A] trial court's order on venue will not be
disturbed if the order is reasonable after a consideration of the
relevant facts of the case.” See Mateu v. Stout, 819 A.2d 563,
565 (Pa. Super. 2003).
Pennsylvania Rule of Civil Procedure Rule 1006 governs venue
transfers and provides in pertinent part:
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 originally have been brought.
Pa.R.C.P. 1006(d)(1). In seeking forum transfer under Rule
1006(d)(1), “the defendant must show more than that the chosen
forum is merely inconvenient to him[,]” Cheeseman v. Lethal
Exterminator, Inc., 549 Pa. 200, 701 A.2d 156, 162 (1997)
(footnote omitted), as the rule permits transfers only if the chosen
forum is oppressive and vexatious for the
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defendant. Bratic v. Rubendall, 626 Pa. 550, 99 A.3d 1(2014).
We acknowledge that a plaintiff's forum choice should be “rarely
... disturbed,” is entitled to great weight, and must be given
deference by the trial court. Wood v. E.I. du Pont de Nemours
& Co., 829 A.2d 707, 711 (Pa. Super. 2003).[] Nevertheless, “a
plaintiff's choice of venue is not absolute or
unassailable.” Connor, 832 A.2d at 1116 (internal citation
omitted).
This Court's recent decision Wright v. Consolidated Rail
Corporation, 215 A.3d 982 (Pa. Super. 2019) [sets] forth the
following principles informing a trial court's review of motions for
transfer of venue claiming forum non conveniens:
The doctrine of forum non conveniens “provides the
court with a means of looking beyond technical
considerations such as jurisdiction and venue to
determine whether litigation in the plaintiff's chosen
forum would serve the interests of justice under the
particular circumstances.” Alford [v. Philadelphia
Coca-Cola Bottling Co., Inc., 366 Pa. Super. 510],
531 A.2d [792] at 794 [(1987)] (citation
omitted). The doctrine addresses the issue of
plaintiffs bringing “suit in an inconvenient forum in the
hope that they will secure easier or larger recoveries
or so add to the costs of the defense that the
defendant will take a default judgment or compromise
for a larger sum.”
Hovatter [v. CSX Transportation, Inc.], 193 A.3d
[420] at 424 [(Pa. Super. 2018)] (quotation marks
and quotation omitted).
The two most important factors the trial court must
apply when considering whether dismissal is
warranted are that “1.) the plaintiff's choice of forum
should not be disturbed except for ‘weighty reasons,’
and 2.) there must be an alternate forum available or
the action may not be dismissed.”
....
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To determine whether such “weighty reasons” exist as
would overcome the plaintiff's choice of forum, the
trial court must examine both the private and public
interest factors involved. Petty v. Suburban
General Hospital, 363 Pa. Super. 277, 525 A.2d
1230, 1232 (1987). The Petty Court reiterated the
considerations germane to a determination of both the
plaintiff's private interests and those of the public as
defined by the United States Supreme Court in Gulf
Oil Corp. v. Gilbert, 330 U.S. 501, 67 S.Ct. 839,
91 L.Ed. 1055 (1947). They are:
the relative ease of access to sources of proof;
availability of compulsory process for
attendance of unwilling, and the cost of
obtaining attendance of willing, witnesses;
possibility of view of premises, if view would be
appropriate to the actions; and all other
practical problems that make trial of a case
easy, expeditious and inexpensive. There may
also be questions as to the enforceability of a
judgment if one is obtained. The court will
weigh relative advantages and obstacles to a
fair trial.
***
Factors of public interest also have place in
applying the doctrine. Administrative
difficulties follow for courts when litigation is
piled up in congested centers instead of being
handled at its origin. Jury duty is a burden that
ought not to be imposed upon the people of a
community which has no relation to the
litigation. ...
Hovatter, 193 A.3d at 424-25 (quotations
and citations omitted)[ ].
Wright 215 A.3d at 991 (footnote deleted).
In Bratic, which sought “to clarify the requirements for transfers
based on forum non conveniens as expressed in Cheeseman,”
our Supreme Court cautioned against overemphasizing public and
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private interests to the undue subordination of the ultimate issue,
namely whether the chosen forum was vexatious or oppressive:
Cheeseman was not intended to increase the level of
oppressiveness or vexatiousness a defendant must
show; rather, understood in its articulated
context, Cheeseman merely corrected the practice
that developed in the lower courts of giving excessive
weight to “public interest” factors when ruling on a
forum non conveniens motion. Whatever public
interest factors exist, they are not determinative; they
are only a factor insofar as they bear directly on
the ultimate test. And while Rule 1006(d)(1) on its
face allows transfer based on “the convenience of the
parties[,]” Pa.R.C.P. 1006(d)(1), convenience or the
lack thereof is not the test our case law has
established: the moving party must show the chosen
forum is either oppressive or vexatious.
Bratic, 99 A.3d at 6, 7–8 (some internal citations omitted).
Powers v. Verizon Pennsylvania, LLC, 230 A.3d 492, 498 (Pa.
Super. 2020).
In response to Appellants’ contention, Appellees TMH and TIEM note
that their January 24, 2020 Motion to Transfer Venue to York County under
the doctrine of forum non conveniens averred, inter alia, that: (1) Decedent’s
injury occurred at the Johnson Controls, Inc. facility in York County, (2) all 17
fact witnesses summoned to testify reside in York County, (3) all fact
witnesses have been subpoenaed for depositions to take place in York or
Dauphin County, (4) Decedent’s medical treatment occurred in York County,
and (5) the HVAC unit allegedly manufactured by TMH and TIEM is located in
York County. TMH and TIEM Mot. to Transfer Venue, at 2-3.
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TMH and TIEM therefore argued in their motion that such facts
established that “all relevant facts occurred in York County[,] . . .
[a]ll witnesses and sources of proof are located outside Philadelphia County,”
and “a trial in York County . . . would provide easier access for witnesses and
other sources of evidence.” Id. at 5-6. The motion concluded that
Appellant’s choice of forum is “substantially outweighed by the burden placed
on Moving Defendants, co-defendants, witnesses, and even Plaintiffs
themselves [whom, the motion avers, also reside in York County]. Id. at 6.
For its part, the trial court first discusses the Bratic considerations that
inform the vexatious/oppressive inquiry a court must undertake, and
it identifies undisputed facts of record supporting its determination that were
litigation to proceed in Philadelphia, significant burdens would result
from traveling the approximately 82 miles between Philadelphia and York
County. On this point, the court specifies, “This litigation is overwhelmingly
tied to the distant York County, rendering it oppressive for [defendants] TMH
and TIEM to defend themselves from litigation in the chosen forum of
Philadelphia.” TCO, at 10.
The burden is more than merely inconvenient, the court reasons, as not
only would all of Defendants/Appellees’ witnesses be required to travel this
long distance for trial, all evidence necessary to the litigation is also located
in York County. Specifically, the York County locations of Decedent’s fatal
incident, witnesses to the incident, Decedent’s coroner, and necessary
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depositions in the case all weigh in favor of a finding of oppressiveness,
according to the court.
In expounding on these reasons in favor of transferring venue, the trial
court analogizes the facts and consequences of travel in the present case to
those determined to require transfer in both Bratic and Powers. We review
these decisions in turn.
In Bratic, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court addressed whether
proposed travel—in that case, from Dauphin County to Philadelphia—was
oppressive under Rule 1006. In the Court’s oppressiveness analysis, it
recognized that burdens of travel increased with distance, such that prior
decisions finding it “merely inconvenient” to travel between Philadelphia and
its neighboring counties were likely inapposite to situations involving travel
between Philadelphia and more distant counties, where “the oppressiveness
is manifestly troublesome”:
While typically the “fact that the site of the precipitating event was
outside of plaintiff's choice of forum is not dispositive[,]” Walls,
at 852 (citations omitted), it is axiomatic that “when the case
involves a transfer from Philadelphia to a more distant county ...,
factors such as the burden of travel, time out of the office,
disruption to business operations, and the greater difficulty
involved in obtaining witnesses and sources of proof are more
significant[,]” Bratic [v. Rubendall, 43 A.3d 497, 505 (Pa.
Super. 2012) (en banc)] (Gantman, J., dissenting) (internal
citations omitted).
As with other factors insufficient on their own, distance alone is
not dispositive, but it is inherently part of the equation.
The Cheeseman decision actually involved two cases, both filed
in Philadelphia County and transferred to neighboring Bucks
County because of court congestion in the former. Dauphin
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County, however, is not a neighbor of Philadelphia, and one
needs no detailed affidavit to understand the difference in
logistics necessitated by a separation of 100 miles. It is
not necessary to articulate to a jurist the inherently
empirical concept that distance and expedience are
inversely proportional. The Superior Court speculated upon
the eight witnesses, be they employees or professionals, and the
economic consequences as to each is not of record, but it may be
presumed without fear of contradiction that to each of
these people, time indeed is money, and days of
participating in trial in Philadelphia would impact their
“duties/operations[.]” Bratic, at 503.
[] A petition to transfer venue must be supported by detailed
information on the record, but “Cheeseman and Rule
1006(d) do not require any particular form of proof. All
that is required is that the moving party present a sufficient
factual basis for the petition[, and t]he trial court retains
the discretion to determine whether the particular form of
proof is sufficient.” Wood, at 714 (citing Cheeseman, at
162); see also id. at 714 n. 6 (collecting cases and noting
affidavits have never been held necessary to obtain transfer).
The affidavits here, of course, employed nearly identical language,
as the factual basis for each is nearly identical—the
oppressiveness of trial 100 miles away, which is manifestly
troublesome. The trial judge need not be told like a child
how the distance in and of itself makes things more
disagreeable and disruptive to the persons obliged to
travel. Nor is it a secret requiring iteration that trial in
Dauphin County would provide easier access to local
appellants and their local witnesses, as well as the relevant
court documents on which the very case is based. Further,
given the witnesses' respective job titles, we cannot agree with
the Superior Court that the affidavits were insufficient to enable
the trial court to intuit the professional oppressiveness, more than
inconvenience, that is patent therein. Indeed, if a reviewing court
may surmise upon no record evidence at all that some witnesses
will be paid, it should not be heard to criticize the trial court's
crediting actual affidavits from witnesses that would have their
businesses interrupted for days at a time, to their obvious
personal and financial detriment.
...
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As between Philadelphia and adjoining Bucks County, the situation
in Cheeseman, we speak of mere inconvenience; as between
Philadelphia and counties 100 miles away, simple
inconvenience fades in the mirror and we near
oppressiveness with every milepost of the turnpike and
Schuylkill Expressway.
We reaffirm the Cheeseman standard, but hold the showing of
oppression needed for a judge to exercise discretion in favor of
granting a forum non conveniens motion is not as severe as
suggested by the Superior Court's post-Cheeseman cases. Mere
inconvenience remains insufficient, but there is no burden to show
near-draconian consequences. Although the Superior Court may
have reached a conclusion different than the trial court, this
does not justify disturbing the ruling; the Superior Court
effectively substituted its judgment for that of the trial court,
which it may not do. The facts of record allow the finding that trial
in Philadelphia would be more than merely inconvenient. As there
was clearly a proper evidentiary basis for this conclusion, the trial
court did not abuse its discretion in granting the motion
transferring the case to Dauphin County.
Bratic, 99 A.3d 1, 9–10 (emphasis added).
In Powers, plaintiff suffered injuries in front of his Bucks County home
when he stepped on the lid of a cable service box. He brought suit in
Philadelphia County, where venue was proper, but the Philadelphia Court of
Common Pleas entered an order granting defendant Verizon’s petition for
forum non conveniens to transfer venue to Bucks County.
The plaintiff/appellant filed an appeal to this Court and raised one
question for our review,
“[Did] the Lower Court abuse[ ] its discretion when it granted
Verizon's petition to transfer this case to the Bucks County Court
of Common Pleas on the doctrine of forum non coveniens where
none of the Defendants sustained their burden of establishing,
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with detailed facts on the record, that Mr. Powers' chosen forum
was oppressive or vexatious to them?”
Powers, 230 A.3d at 496.
Specifically, the plaintiff/appellant in Powers argued that Verizon failed
to establish with detailed facts of record that the chosen forum of Philadelphia
was anything more than merely inconvenient given its proximity to
neighboring Bucks County. Relying on Bratic, the Powers Court noted that
the petition identified the location in question, where relevant Verizon
employees, witnesses, and medical professional witnesses lived, as northern
Bucks County, which would involve a commute of over one hour, not
accounting for rush hour delays. This was in contrast to the 15 minute
commute to the Bucks County Courthouse.
We also deemed pertinent the fact that the trial court had credited the
petition’s assertion that if site visits proved necessary to resolve the dispute
over the exact site of the accident, then venue in Bucks County would provide
better access to critical evidence and involve less time away from the
courtroom.
As we discerned an evidentiary basis for the trial court's order
transferring venue, we declined to find the trial court had abused its discretion
in granting the petition to transfer to Bucks County. Id. at 500
(citing Mateu v. Stout, 819 A.2d 563, 567 (Pa.Super.2003)) (finding, “the
facts ... present a proper basis for the trial court's decision to transfer venue”
where the new venue “would provide easier access to the sources of proof,
namely, to the witnesses”).
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Applying the principles underlying such decisions, the trial court made
the following findings and conclusions in the present matter:
Appellants admit that York County is at least 81-82 miles from the
Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas. Pls.’ Mem. Of Law
in Opp’n to Defs.’ Mot. to Transfer Venue, at 8. The record shows
that all witnesses and sources of proof are located outside
Philadelphia in either York County or Harrisburg, PA, which is
located in Dauphin County (which neighbors York County and
which, as shown in Bratic, is at least 100 miles from
Philadelphia). TMH and TIEM have presented evidence showing
that the 17 fact witnesses in the case have all been subpoenaed
to appear for depositions in York or Dauphin County, and many
such fact witnesses either reside in York County or are employees
of agencies or institutions located in York County. TMH and TIEM
Mot. to Transfer Venue, Ex. C.
The subpoenaed witnesses include Decedent’s co-workers who
reside in York County, employees with the York County Coroner’s
Office, police officers from the Spring Garden Police Department
located in York County, and EMT and medics employed by
Grantley Ambulance located in York County. Id. There is no
showing that any of these witnesses are willing to appear for
depositions in Philadelphia County or a county close in proximity
to Philadelphia County. See Fessler [v. Watchtower Bible and
Tract Society of New York, Inc.], 131 A.3d [44, 52 (Pa. Super.
2015)] (“The willingness of the York County witnesses to testify
in Montgomery County shows that they will not suffer oppression
by traveling twenty additional miles to Philadelphia for trial”). In
addition, Decedent’s injuries occurred in York County, Decedent’s
medical treatment occurred in York County, the HVAC unit that
caused Decedent’s injuries is located in York County, and both
Appellant Debra Miller and Decedent reside or resided in York
County.[1]
____________________________________________
1 The Supreme Court noted in Bratic that whether the plaintiff is a resident
of Philadelphia is “peripheral to the issue” and, by itself, “insufficient to
warrant transfer[,]” but it observed, nonetheless, that the trial court's mere
mention of these facts does not constitute an abuse of discretion or
misapplication of the law, as it was “evident from the court's opinion that
(Footnote Continued Next Page)
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All in all, this litigation is overwhelmingly tied to the distant York
County, rendering it oppressive for TMH and TIEM to defend
themselves from litigation in the chosen forum of
Philadelphia. Just as in Bratic, it would not only be more than
merely inconvenient for TMH and TIEM’s witnesses to travel 82
miles or more from York County to Philadelphia for trial in this
case, but all evidence necessary to the litigation is also located in
York County. See Bratic, 99 A.3d at 9-10.
Appellants’ attempts to establish witness and evidence locations
below [Bratic’s] 100-mile threshold is unavailing; the near
unanimity of fact witnesses and evidence located in and near York
County, whether they be 94 or 82 miles from Philadelphia, renders
it “manifestly troublesome” for TMH and TIEM and their
witnesses to litigate this case in Philadelphia County rather than
York County. See id, at 10. Bratic does not establish a 100-mile
bright line rule, where whether a chosen venue is oppressive relies
exclusively on whether the witnesses’ travel burden is above or
below a 100-mile threshold.
TCO, at 9-10.
In light of controlling precedent discussed supra, we agree a reasonable
evidentiary basis supported the conclusion that the selection of a distant
Philadelphia venue to litigate this purely York County matter was manifestly
oppressive. We, therefore, decline to find the Philadelphia Court of Common
Pleas committed an abuse of discretion when it transferred venue from
Philadelphia County to York County, as it appropriately considered the totality
of the record supporting Appellees’ forum non conveniens position, including
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transfer was based on other enumerated factors.” Bratic, at 8. It continued,
“Indeed, in Cheeseman itself, Justice Cappy pointed out that ‘access to
witnesses or other sources of proof’ was an entirely legitimate factor when
determining oppressiveness, Cheeseman, at 162, and the plaintiffs are
certainly ‘sources of proof.’” Bratic, at 8.
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J-A13035-21
the York and Dauphin County residency of the many witnesses—which include
Decedent’s co-workers, Appellees’ employees, public officials, and first
responders—who would be subject to the 80-plus mile commute to the
Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas.
Order affirmed.
Judgment Entered.
Joseph D. Seletyn, Esq.
Prothonotary
Date: 9/3/2021
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