G & G Steel, Inc. v. Applied Technical Services, Inc.
Docket: 1911137
Court: Supreme Court of Alabama; July 24, 1992; Alabama; State Supreme Court
G. G Steel, Inc. appealed an interlocutory order transferring its case from Franklin County to Madison County, contending that the trial court erred in this decision. The lawsuit involved Applied Technical Services, Inc., a foreign corporation, and Harold Richard Chandler. The appellate court treated the appeal as a petition for a writ of mandamus. The trial court's order noted that while Applied Technical Services was doing business in Franklin County when the cause of action arose in October 1988, it was not doing so at the time the suit was filed in September 1991. Alabama Code 1975, § 6-3-7, states that a foreign corporation can be sued in any county where it does business through an agent, and that a domestic corporation can be sued in any county where it was doing business at the time the cause of action arose. Furthermore, Amendment No. 473, effective April 1, 1988, stipulates that a foreign corporation may only be sued in counties where it could be sued if it were a domestic corporation. Since the cause of action arose after the amendment and Applied Technical Services was doing business in Franklin County at that time, the appellate court determined that venue was proper in Franklin County. Consequently, the trial court's transfer of the case to Madison County was erroneous. The appellate court granted the writ of mandamus, instructing the trial court to reverse its order of transfer. The decision was concurred by Chief Justice Hornsby and Justices Maddox, Shores, and Kennedy.