Aper, T. v. Penn Central Corp. ( 2021 )

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NON-PRECEDENTIAL DECISION - SEE SUPERIOR COURT I.O.P. 65.37
BARBARA CHATMAN PERSONAL : IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF
REPRESENTATIVE FOR THE ESTATE : PENNSYLVANIA
OF FREDDIE CHATMAN :
:
Appellant :
:
:
v. :
: No. 1652 EDA 2020
:
CONSOLIDATED RAIL CORPORATION :
Appeal from the Order Entered July 20, 2020
In the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County Civil Division at
No(s): No. 190403373
MICHAEL J. MACEY, : IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF
ADMINISTRATOR OF THE ESTATE : PENNSYLVANIA
OF JAMES J. MACEY :
:
Appellant :
:
:
v. :
: No. 1653 EDA 2020
:
CONSOLIDATED RAIL :
CORPORATION AND CSX
TRANSPORTATION, INC
Appeal from the Order Entered July 20, 2020
In the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County Civil Division at
No(s): No. 190403296
THOMAS P. SCHLEICH : IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF
: PENNSYLVANIA
Appellant :
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:
:
v. :
:
:
PENN CENTRAL CORPORATION A/K/A : No. 1655 EDA 2020
AMERICAN PREMIER :
UNDERWRITERS, INC, :
CONSOLIDATED RAIL CORPORATION :
AND CSX TRANSPORTATION, INC :
Appeal from the Order Entered July 20, 2020
In the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County Civil Division at
No(s): No. 190401349
TINA M. APER, PERSONAL : IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF
REPRESENTATIVE FOR THE ESTATE : PENNSYLVANIA
OF RUSSELL D. APER :
:
Appellant :
:
:
v. :
: No. 1716 EDA 2020
:
PENN CENTRAL CORPORATION :
A/K/A AMERICAN PREMIER :
UNDERWRITERS, INC., :
CONSOLIDATED RAIL :
CORPORATION AND CSX :
TRANSPORTATION, INC
Appeal from the Order Entered July 31, 2020
In the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County Civil Division at
No(s): No. 191003068
ROBERT R. THOMPSON : IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF
: PENNSYLVANIA
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Appellant :
:
:
v. :
:
:
PENN CENTRAL CORPORATION : No. 1756 EDA 2020
A/K/A AMERICAN PREMIER :
UNDERWRITERS, CONSOLIDATED :
RAIL CORPORATION, AND CSX :
TRANSPORTATION, INC
Appeal from the Order Entered August 14, 2020
In the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County Civil Division at
No(s): No. 190302949
BEFORE: McLAUGHLIN, J., KING, J., and PELLEGRINI, J.*
MEMORANDUM BY PELLEGRINI, J.: FILED SEPTEMBER 14, 2021
These five consolidated appeals arise from orders by the Court of
Common Pleas of Philadelphia County (trial court) granting the dismissal of
the underlying actions. The plaintiffs in each case are former employees of
the defendants, Rail Corporation (Conrail), Penn Central Corporation a/k/a
American Premier Underwriters, Inc. (Penn Central), and CSX Transportation,
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* Retired Senior Judge assigned to the Superior Court.
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Inc. (CSX) (collectively, the Railroad Defendants).1 Each of the plaintiffs has
asserted a claim under the Federal Employers’ Liability Act (FELA), 45 U.S.C.
§§ 51-60, based on injuries allegedly sustained while working for the Railroad
Defendants on sites located outside of Pennsylvania.2
The Railroad Defendants filed motions to dismiss the five complaints
based on the doctrine of forum non conveniens, 42 Pa.C.S. § 5322(e). They
argued that the plaintiffs should have to refile their suits in states other than
Pennsylvania for lack of sufficient ties to that forum. As explained in more
depth below, we affirm all five orders granting the motions to dismiss in the
appeals docketed at 1652 EDA 2020; 1653 EDA 2020; 1655 EDA 2020; 1716
EDA 2020; and 1756 EDA 2020.
I.
The plaintiffs in the underlying cases have in the past worked at sites
managed by the Railroad Defendants. It is undisputed that at all relevant
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1 In cases 1652 EDA 2020, 1653 EDA 2020, and 1716 EDA 2020, the personal
representative of a deceased employee’s estate has filed the underlying
action. In the remaining two cases, the employees have brought suit directly
as the named plaintiffs.
2 Three of the plaintiffs (Macey, Schleich and Thompson) also claimed
violations of the Locomotive Inspection Act, 49 U.S.C. § 20701. The addition
of this claim in those cases has no bearing on the dispositive issue of forum
non conveniens.
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times, all the plaintiffs were employed outside of Pennsylvania, sustained their
injuries outside of Pennsylvania, and received treatment outside of
Pennsylvania.
In their motions to dismiss, the Railroad Defendants listed the following
factors supporting dismissal on the grounds of forum non conveniens: (1)
none of the potential fact witnesses or sources of proof reside in Pennsylvania;
(2) the Railroad Defendants will be unable to compel the attendance of
unwilling witnesses; (3) it will be costly to obtain attendance of willing out-of-
state witnesses; (4) the fact-finder will be unable to easily view the plaintiffs’
work premises in person; and (5) the Philadelphia courts, taxpayers and jury
pool will be burdened by the litigation.
The plaintiffs attempted to establish a link between their claims and
Pennsylvania by stating their intention to call four witnesses with ties to
Philadelphia. According to the plaintiffs, these witnesses – Marcia Comstock,
William Barringer, Ramon Thomas and Paul Kovac – were employed by the
Railroad Defendants and privy to information relevant to their FELA claims,
including the “safety procedures in use by” the Railroad Defendants at the
time of the plaintiffs’ injuries. The plaintiffs also asserted that one of the four
witnesses currently resides in Pennsylvania.
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Dismissal was granted in Chatman (1652 EDA 2020); Macey (1653
EDA 2020); Schleich (1655 EDA 2020); Aper (1716 EDA 2020); and
Thompson (1756 EDA 2020). The plaintiffs timely appealed,3 and in
substantially similar 1925(a) opinions for each of those cases, the trial court
found that the Railroad Defendants had established “weighty reasons” to
justify dismissal. The trial court relied primarily on our opinion in Wright v.
Consol. Rail Corp., 215 A.3d 982 (Pa. Super. 2019), a related FELA case
where we found that the trial court abused its discretion in denying the
Railroad Defendants’ motion for dismissal on forum non conveniens grounds.
The trial court reasoned that the facts of those five cases “are nearly
identical to Wright” insofar as “the majority of potential witnesses with any
connection to the underlying matter reside in a foreign jurisdiction.” 1925(a)
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3 The trial court simultaneously ordered the plaintiffs in these five cases to file
with the Prothonotary a 1925(b) Statement of Matters Complained of on
Appeal within 21 days from the date the order was filed. The plaintiffs
complied with that filing deadline. These orders also directed the plaintiffs to
serve a copy of the Statements to the trial court by hand-delivery or carrier
service. However, the trial court’s order did not specify the deadline for
service or provide an address where the trial court could be served as
Pa.R.A.P. 1925(b)(3)(iii) requires. Despite those defects in the order, the
plaintiffs ultimately served the trial judge with a copy of their Statements prior
to the issuance of the trial court’s respective 1925(a) opinions. Thus, we find
that the plaintiffs substantially complied with Rule 1925(b) and thereby
preserved for appeal all issues raised in their Statements. See Rahn v.
Consol. Rail Corp., 254 A.3d 738 (Pa. Super. 2021) (finding plaintiff
substantially complied with Rule 1925(b) on nearly identical facts).
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Opinion, 10/27/2020, at 8 (opinion in Chatman, 1652 EDA 2020). Moreover,
the trial court added that:
[a]ll of the supervisors and co-workers who worked with
[p]laintiff[s] may have knowledge about the facts giving rise to
[plaintiffs’] claim reside in a foreign jurisdiction. All of [plaintiffs’]
doctors who played a role in their diagnosis and medical treatment
reside in a foreign jurisdiction. All of [plaintiffs’] alleged injuries
took place while they was working in a foreign jurisdiction.
Furthermore, none of the relevant documentary evidence is
located or maintained in Pennsylvania.
Id.4
The plaintiffs now each contend in the consolidated five appeals that the
trial court abused its discretion in granting dismissal. They frame their
appellate issues in these cases as follows:
1. Whether the Trial Court abused its discretion in finding that
weighty reasons existed to support dismissal under the doctrine
of forum non conveniens.
2. Whether the Trial Court should have considered in its analysis
not only that Conrail and Penn Central were Pennsylvania
corporations and that both of their corporate headquarters were
located in Philadelphia, PA, but also that four of the Plaintiffs’ fact
witnesses worked for Conrail at its corporate headquarters in
Philadelphia, PA.
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4 The reasoning of the 1925(a) opinions for all five consolidated appeals each
relied on our Wright opinion in concluding that the Railroad Defendants had
established weighty reasons for dismissal in the case. The opinions for
Chatman (1652 EDA 2020); Macey (1653 EDA 2020); Schleich (1655 EDA
2020); and Aper (1716 EDA 2020), were authored by the Honorable Angelo
J. Foglietta, and the 1925(a) opinion for Thompson (1756 EDA 2020) was
authored by the Honorable Sean F. Kennedy.
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3. Whether the Trial Court erred in considering the inconvenience
of [the Railroad Defendants’] potential hypothetical fact witnesses
over the actual inconvenience of [Plaintiffs’] four fact witnesses
who would be required to travel to [another state] for trial.
See e.g., Appellant’s Brief, at 2 (brief filed in Chatman, 1652 EDA 2020).
II.
A.
In Chatman (1652 EDA 2020); Macey (1653 EDA 2020); Schleich
(1655 EDA 2020); Aper (1716 EDA 2020); and Thompson (1756 EDA 2020),
the plaintiffs all raise the same three appellate issues concerning whether the
trial court abused its discretion in granting dismissal. These issues will be
addressed collectively below.
FELA affords a plaintiff a “substantial right” to select the forum in which
to file his or her FELA claims. See 45 U.S.C. § 56. However, under the
doctrine of forum non conveniens, a trial court may dismiss a case in whole
or in part if it “finds that in the interest of substantial justice the matter should
be heard in another forum[.]” 42 Pa.C.S. § 5322(e); see also Hovatter v.
CSX Transp., Inc., 193 A.3d 420, 425-26 (Pa. Super. 2018) (holding that
FELA does not heighten the deference afforded to a plaintiff’s choice of forum
in the context of forum non conveniens). This doctrine allows the court to
look beyond jurisdiction and venue in determining whether the plaintiff’s
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choice of forum “would serve the interests of justice under the particular
circumstances.” Robbins for Estate of Robbins v. Consol. Rail Corp., 212
A.3d 81, 87 (Pa. Super. 2019).
Two main factors must guide the determination on whether the plaintiff
has chosen a proper forum. The first factor is if the plaintiff has an available
alternative forum to refile claims if they are dismissed. Id.The second factor is whether there are “weighty reasons” which justify
altering the plaintiff’s choice of forum. Id. The plaintiff’s choice of forum
must be given a high degree of deference, but to a lesser extent where the
plaintiff has chosen a foreign forum, as all plaintiffs do here. See id.The assessment of “weighty reasons” implicates both public and private
interests. See Hovatter, 193 A.3d at 425; see also Plum v. Tampax, Inc.,
160 A.2d 549 (Pa. 1960) (same). Private interests include:
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.
Hovatter, 193 A.3d at 425 (citations omitted).
Public interests include:
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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. There is
appropriateness, too, in having the trial ... in a forum that is at
home with the state law that must govern the case, rather than
having a court in some other forum untangle problems in conflict
of laws, and in law foreign to itself.
Id. (citations omitted).
A trial court’s ruling on a motion to dismiss based on forum non
conveniens is subject to an abuse of discretion standard of review. Id. at 424(some citations and quotation marks omitted). “[I]f, there is any [factual
basis in the record] for the trial court’s decision, the decision must stand.” Id.An error of law or a manifestly unreasonable judgment may constitute an
abuse of discretion, and such errors are reviewed de novo. See id.B.
The trial court did not abuse its discretion in granting the Railroad
Defendants’ motions to dismiss. The undisputed facts of these cases gave the
trial court a sufficient basis to conclude that there existed weighty reasons
why the plaintiffs should be compelled to refile their claims in a more
appropriate forum. Again, none of the plaintiffs in these five cases reside in
Pennsylvania; none of their injuries occurred in Pennsylvania; and none of
their treatment was given in Pennsylvania.
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In their briefing, the plaintiffs have stressed that they have identified
four former employees of the Railroad Defendants who the plaintiffs broadly
assert became privy to relevant “safety procedures” while working in
Philadelphia. The plaintiffs also assert that at least one of those potential
witnesses resides in Pennsylvania. However, the record does not show how
the potential witnesses’ testimony is relevant. The record also does not
indicate where any of those four witnesses live, much less whether or to what
extent they would be willing to testify in Philadelphia. Although the plaintiffs’
counsel identified these potential witnesses and asserted they have knowledge
of the Railroad Defendants’ safety procedures, those assertions were not
evidence and did not compel the trial court to deny dismissal as a matter of
law. See Commonwealth v. Hanible, 30 A.3d 426, 466 (Pa. Super. 2011)
(assertions of counsel are not evidence).
The fact that the Railroad Defendants are incorporated or headquartered
in Pennsylvania also did not render the trial court’s dismissal an abuse of
discretion. The trial court was free to credit the Railroad Defendants’ evidence
of private and public interests that established weighty reasons for dismissal.
See Robbins, 212 A.3d at 90 (“[I]t is within the trial court’s discretion to
weigh some factors more heavily than others and weighing the factors is not
an exercise in counting numbers.”) (citation and quotations omitted).
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Finally, in materially indistinguishable cases, this Court has upheld the
dismissal of similar FELA suits against the Railroad Defendants on the grounds
of forum non conveniens.5 As discussed above, this Court has even gone so
far as to hold that under nearly identical circumstances, the trial court abuses
its discretion by denying dismissal. See Wright, 215 A.3d 982; see also
Ficarra, 242 A.3d 323. Thus, because the trial court did not abuse its
discretion in granting dismissal in all five cases here, those rulings must
stand.6
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5 See also Lyndes v. Penn Central Corp., 254 A.3d 725 (Pa. Super. 2021);
Rahn v. Consol. Rail Corp., 254 A.3d 738 (Pa. Super. 2021); Burnett v.
Penn Central Corp., 250 A.3d 1240 (Pa. Super. 2021); DeAngelis v. Penn
Central Corp., 251 A.3d 432 (Pa. Super. 2021); Hurt v. Penn Central
Corp., 250 A.3d 1227 (Pa. Super. 2021); Stevens v. Penn Central Corp.,
251 A.3d 798 (Pa. Super. 2021).
6 The plaintiffs in Chatman and Thompson have raised an additional
argument that the trial court’s orders of dismissal did not expressly (or
sufficiently) toll the filing period for purposes of the statutes of limitations in
other jurisdictions, thereby denying them of an alternative forum and
precluding dismissal in Philadelphia. However, even assuming the trial court
erred in that respect, it would not entitle the plaintiffs to relief because, as the
trial court noted in its orders, the Railroad Defendants have stipulated in both
cases that they will submit to service in another forum and not use dismissal
in Philadelphia as a basis for a statute of limitations defense upon plaintiffs’
refiling. See e.g., Railroad Defendants’ Motion to Dismiss Without Prejudice,
5/3/2019, at Paragraph 40. This is sufficient to allow plaintiffs to refile their
claims without risk of that procedural bar. See Farley v. McDonnell
Douglas Truck Servs., Inc., 638 A.2d 1027, 1032 (Pa. 1994).
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Orders affirmed in 1652 EDA 2020, 1653 EDA 2020, 1655 EDA 2020,
1716 EDA 2020, and 1756 EDA 2020.
Judgment Entered.
Joseph D. Seletyn, Esq.
Prothonotary
Date: 9/14/2021
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