Ex parte Miller, Hamilton, Snider & Odom, LLC

Summary

The Supreme Court of Alabama grants a petition for a writ of mandamus and directs the Baldwin Circuit Court to vacate its order transferring the action to Jefferson County. The court holds that Alabama's forum non conveniens statute applies only to actions initially filed in an appropriate venue, and therefore could not support a further transfer after the action had been transferred from improper venue in Blount County to Baldwin County. Justice Murdock dissents, concluding that the statute permits either party to seek a transfer between proper venues.

Holdings

1. A petition for a writ of mandamus is the proper means for challenging an order transferring an action to another Alabama county.
2. The doctrine of forum non conveniens as codified in § 6-3-21.1 applies only to civil actions filed in an appropriate venue; it cannot be used to transfer an action that was initially commenced in an improper venue after that action has been transferred to the proper venue.
3. The defendants established a clear legal entitlement to relief, and the Baldwin Circuit Court was required to vacate its order transferring the case to Jefferson County.

Questions Presented

1. Whether a petition for a writ of mandamus is the proper method to challenge an order transferring an action to another county.
2. Whether Alabama's forum non conveniens statute, § 6-3-21.1, applies when the action was initially filed in an improper venue and later transferred to a proper venue.
3. Whether the Baldwin Circuit Court could transfer the action to Jefferson County on forum non conveniens grounds after the action had been transferred from improper venue in Blount County to proper venue in Baldwin County.

Disposition

writ_granted