Summary
The Alabama Supreme Court granted Stephen Hrobowski's petition for a writ of mandamus and directed the Lowndes Circuit Court to transfer a motor-vehicle-accident action to Montgomery County under Alabama's forum non conveniens statute. The Court held that the interest of justice compelled transfer because the accident occurred in Montgomery County, the investigation was conducted there, and the plaintiff resided there, giving Montgomery County a significantly stronger connection to the case.
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Practice areas
Questions Presented
- Whether the trial court abused its discretion by denying Hrobowski's motion to transfer the action from Lowndes County to Montgomery County under the interest-of-justice prong of Ala. Code § 6-3-21.1(a).
- Whether the undisputed connection of the accident and principal parties to Montgomery County required transfer despite the plaintiff's initial choice of Lowndes County as the forum.
Holdings
- When the interest of justice is best served by transferring a civil action from a county with little or no connection to the action to a county with a significantly stronger connection, Ala. Code § 6-3-21.1(a) compels the trial court to transfer the action.
- The interest of justice compelled transfer from Lowndes County to Montgomery County because the accident occurred in Montgomery County, it was investigated there, and the plaintiff and another named defendant resided there; those connections outweighed the plaintiff's initial selection of Lowndes County.
Key quotations
“Mandamus is a drastic and extraordinary writ, to be issued only where there is (1) a clear legal right in the petitioner to the order sought; (2) an imperative duty upon the respondent to perform, accompanied by a refusal to do so; (3) the lack of another adequate remedy; and (4) properly invoked jurisdiction of the court.” (at 333)
“The "interest of justice" prong of § 6-3-21.1 requires "the transfer of the action from a county with little, if any, connection to the action, to the county with a strong connection to the action."” (at 334)
“We therefore grant Hrobowski's petition and issue a writ of mandamus directing the Lowndes Circuit Court to vacate its August 30, 2017, order denying Hrobowski's motion and to enter an order transferring the underlying action to Montgomery County.” (at 335)
Factual background
A motor-vehicle accident occurred on Interstate 85 in Montgomery County when Hrobowski's vehicle collided with Kevin Ledyard's vehicle, which then struck Roosevelt McCorvey's vehicle. McCorvey and Ledyard were Montgomery County residents, and Montgomery-based emergency and law-enforcement personnel investigated the accident. Hrobowski was sued in Lowndes County, although the record raised questions about whether he actually resided there and indicated that his driver's-license address was his mother's residence.
Procedural history
McCorvey filed negligence and negligence per se claims in the Lowndes Circuit Court against Hrobowski, Ledyard, and fictitiously named defendants. Hrobowski moved to transfer the action to Montgomery County under Ala. Code § 6-3-21.1(a), but the trial court denied the motion without stating findings. Hrobowski filed a timely mandamus petition in the Supreme Court of Alabama, which granted the petition and ordered the transfer.
Remand instructions
The Lowndes Circuit Court was directed to vacate its August 30, 2017, order denying Hrobowski's motion and enter an order transferring the underlying action to the Montgomery Circuit Court.