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Complete Employment Services, Inc. v. Duff
Citations: 158 So. 3d 461; 2014 Ala. Civ. App. LEXIS 118; 2014 WL 3387903Docket: 2130657
Court: Court of Civil Appeals of Alabama; July 11, 2014; Alabama; State Appellate Court
Complete Employment Services, Inc. sought a writ of mandamus to compel the Mobile Circuit Court to reverse its order that granted Christopher S. Duff's motion to transfer the case to Clarke Circuit Court. The case originated when the employer filed a verified complaint on March 4, 2014, to determine if Duff's injuries to both hands sustained while working were compensable under Alabama's Workers’ Compensation Act. Duff argued for the transfer based on his residency in Coffeeville and the location of his work in Jackson, both within Clarke County, referencing the precedent set in Ex parte Adams. He asserted that, under the Act, the appropriate venue for the workers' compensation claim would be where a tort action could have been filed. The Mobile Circuit Court granted the transfer on March 28, 2014, citing the interest of justice. The employer's petition for a writ of mandamus was denied, with the court stating that such a remedy requires proof of a clear legal right, an imperative duty, lack of adequate alternative remedies, and proper jurisdiction. The court found no abuse of discretion in the lower court's decision. The employer contends that the case does not need to be transferred to Clarke County, asserting that both Mobile County and Clarke County are appropriate venues for the action according to Ex parte Adams and statute 6-3-7. The Mobile Circuit Court granted the transfer based on the "interest of justice," as permitted by Section 6-3-21.1(a), which allows civil actions to be transferred for the convenience of parties and witnesses or in the interest of justice. The determination for transfer was based on a significant connection to the action in Clarke County, where the employee resided and where the injury occurred, thus emphasizing the importance of venue in relation to the injury’s location. The interest of justice requires that cases be tried in jurisdictions with a stronger connection to the events in question, considering the burden on counties with little connection to the case. The employer's complaint acknowledged that the employee lived and was injured in Clarke County, which holds significant weight in the interest-of-justice analysis. The employee provided affidavits indicating that key witnesses and medical personnel resided in Clarke County and that he began medical treatment there. Conversely, the employer's affidavit noted the lack of eyewitnesses to the accident, the location of the company's principal business in Mobile County, and the employee's subsequent transfer to a Mobile County hospital for treatment. The employer's petition claims that the location of the alleged accident in Clarke County does not impede its right to choose a proper forum for the case. However, the employer does not provide any legal authority to support this claim, violating Rule 28(a)(10) of the Alabama Rules of Appellate Procedure. Key facts include that the employee lives in Clarke County, the accident and injuries occurred there, and both the employer and Scotch Gulf Lumber operate in the same county. Despite the employer and Scotch Gulf Lumber's principal businesses being in Mobile County, and the employee's medical treatment occurring in Mobile, Jefferson, and Clarke Counties, the court finds that the Mobile Circuit Court did not abuse its discretion in transferring the case to Clarke Circuit Court. The employer has not demonstrated a clear legal right to the requested relief, leading to the denial of the petition for the writ of mandamus. The decision is agreed upon by Judges Thompson, Pittman, Thomas, and Donaldson.