Case Title: Ex Parte Paulk

Citation: 722 So. 2d 171

Docket Number: 1960743

State: alabama

Court: Alabama Supreme Court

Date: 1998-08-28T00:00:00Z

Document:
722 So. 2d 171 (1998)
Ex parte McIver L. PAULK et al.
(In re McIver L. Paulk et al. v. Buccaneer Homes of Alabama, Inc., et al.)
1960743.

Supreme Court of Alabama.
August 28, 1998.
Andrew J. Smithart III of Pearson & Smithart, P.C., Tuscaloosa; and Lynn W. Jinks III and L. Bernard Smithart of Jinks, Smithart, Jackson & Daniel, L.L.C., Union Springs, for petitioners.
Robert C. Black and John R. Bradwell of Hill, Hill, Carter, Franco, Cole & Black, P.C., Montgomery; John W. Lowe of Lowe, Mobley & Lowe, Haleyville; and John W. Waters, Jr., of Alley & Waters, P.C., Union Springs, for respondent.
Louis C. Rutland of Rutland & Braswell, L.L.C., Union Springs, for amicus curiae A.C. King d/b/a King's Mobile Homes.
James H. Seale III, Greensboro, for amicus curiae Causey & Graves, Inc.
James M. Galese, Birmingham, for amicus curiae Southern Energy Homes, Inc.
*172 Robert E. Sasser, Dorothy Wells Littleton, and Tamara A. Stidham of Sirote & Permutt, P.C., Montgomery, for amicus curiae Alabama Manufactured Housing Institute, Inc.
Richard H. Monk III of Bradley, Arant, Rose, & White, L.L.P., Birmingham, for amici curiae Champion Home Builders Co., Patriot Homes, Inc., and the Alabama Industry and Manufacturers Ass'n.
COOK, Justice.
The opinion of March 20, 1998, is withdrawn, and the following is substituted therefor.
The plaintiffs, McIver L. Paulk, Thomas B. Paulk, Sr., and Annie Pearl Smith, petition for a writ of mandamus directing Judge William T. Gaither of the Bullock Circuit Court to vacate his order transferring their action from Bullock County to Marion County. We grant the petition.
In August 1994, McIver L. Paulk, a resident of Montgomery County, and Thomas B. Paulk, Sr., a resident of Bullock County, purchased a mobile home in Bullock County from King's Mobile Homes, Inc. ("King"). The mobile home was manufactured by Buccaneer Homes of Alabama, Inc. ("Buccaneer"), located in Marion County. In May 1994, Annie Pearl Smith, a resident of Bullock County, purchased a Buccaneer mobile home from King. Buccaneer sold mobile homes in Bullock County through King, pursuant to a "Dealer Agreement." Buccaneer provided a written warranty covering each mobile home for defects in material and workmanship. On August 25, 1994, King stopped selling Buccaneer mobile homes. On August 4, 1995, the plaintiffs filed a complaint in the Bullock Circuit Court against Buccaneer and several fictitiously named defendants. The complaint alleged breach of warranty and stated two counts of fraud. The plaintiffs sought compensatory damages, including damages for mental anguish arising under the breach-of-warranty claim, and punitive damages under the two fraud claims.
In September 1995, Buccaneer moved to have the action dismissed for improper venue or, alternatively, to have the action transferred to the Circuit Court of Marion County. On November 18, 1996, Judge Gaither granted Buccaneer's motion to transfer the action to Marion County. Buccaneer argues that under Ala.Code 1975, § 6-3-7, venue is proper only in Marion County.
The plaintiffs allege breach of warranty, fraudulent misrepresentation, and fraudulent suppression against Buccaneer, and they seek compensatory damages, including damages for mental anguish, and punitive damages. We must determine whether venue for these claims was proper in Bullock County, where the action was filed, or, as Buccaneer contends, was proper only in Marion County.
Buccaneer is a domestic corporation; therefore, the venue statute to be applied is that portion of § 6-3-7, Ala.Code 1975, relating to domestic corporations. Because we find that there is substantial evidence that misrepresentations were made in Bullock County and substantial evidence that an agency relationship existed between Buccaneer and King, we will pretermit discussion of the breach-of-warranty claim. Therefore, the rule applicable in this case is that rule set out in what we here label as subpart 2 of § 6-3-7:
It is only in personal injury actions against domestic corporations that the legislature, by the proviso contained in § 6-3-7, has limited venue to the county where the injury occurred or the county of the plaintiff's residence if the corporation does business there. See Ex parte Blount, 665 So. 2d 205 (Ala. 1995); Ex parte Townsend, 589 So. 2d 711 (Ala.1991); Ex parte W.S. Newell, Inc., 569 So. 2d 725 (Ala.1990).
The plaintiffs purchased their mobile homes from King in Bullock County. Two of *173 the plaintiffs, Thomas B. Paulk, Sr., and Annie Pearl Smith, reside in Bullock County. On each mobile home manufactured by Buccaneer and sold by King, Buccaneer provided a warranty covering defects in materials and workmanship. Pursuant to the "Retailer Service Agreement" between King and Buccaneer, King was required to present each customer with a copy of the Buccaneer warranty before the retail sales contract was executed and to provide Buccaneer with a completed warranty card stating the customer's name, address, and date of purchase. King was also required to notify Buccaneer of any defects in a Buccaneer home no later than five business days after receiving the service request.
Buccaneer contends that it was not doing business by agent in Bullock County. Specifically, Buccaneer argues that King cannot be its agent because the Dealer Agreement expressly states that no agency relationship exists. Buccaneer also argues that no agency relationship existed between it and King because it had no control over the activity of the dealer. The plaintiffs contend, however, that the Retailer Service Agreement constituted substantial evidence suggesting an agency relationship under which King was Buccaneer's agent for presenting the manufacturer's warranty and for doing warranty repair in Bullock County. This Court stated in Tomlinson v. G.E. Capital Dealer Distributor Finance, Inc., 624 So. 2d 565, 567 (Ala.1993), that a contract term disavowing an agency relationship is not conclusive and will not preclude a finding of an agency relationship if there is independent evidence of a retained right of control. The Retailer Service Agreement provides, among other things, the following:
In Wood v. Shell Oil Co., 495 So. 2d 1034 (Ala.1986), we stated:
495 So. 2d  at 1036. This Court in Brown v. Commercial Dispatch Pub. Co., 504 So. 2d 245 (Ala.1987), expressed the principle thus:
504 So. 2d  at 246.
This case is conceptually difficult because the result sought to be accomplished by Buccaneer (i.e., the expeditious repair or setup of mobile homes under warranty) is one and the same as the manner in which that result was sought to be accomplished. If King performed repairs expeditiously with service personnel and facilities deemed adequate in Buccaneer's judgment, then it also accomplished the result sought by Buccaneer. King was also under the direct supervision of Buccaneer in that Buccaneer retained the right to terminate the contract if, in Buccaneer's judgment, King did not comply with the terms of the agreement. Thus, the plaintiffs presented substantial evidence indicating that Buccaneer directed the manner in which warranty repairs were to be performed, as well as how they were to be performed, under the Retailer Service Agreement.
The plaintiffs also presented substantial evidence indicating that oral misrepresentations were made to them in Bullock County by a representative of King, at a time when King was acting as an agent of Buccaneer Homes. The plaintiffs presented the affidavit of A.C. King, president of King's Mobile Homes, who stated, in pertinent part:
(Emphasis added.)
The plaintiffs also presented affidavits from Thomas B. Paulk, Sr., Annie Pearl Smith, and McIver L. Paulk. Each of them stated in the affidavit that one of the reasons they purchased a Buccaneer home was the warranty presented to them and explained by Mr. King, who they said they believed was an agent of Buccaneer with knowledge of the intricacies of the Buccaneer warranty. We find that these affidavits present substantial evidence indicating that oral misrepresentations were made by King's Mobile Homes in Bullock County to the plaintiffs in Bullock County at the time of the sale of the mobile homes.
The plaintiffs' fraud claims alleging that King's Mobile Homes, as an agent of Buccaneer, committed fraudulent acts against them in Bullock County are based upon these oral misrepresentations, which occurred in Bullock County. Therefore, under § 6-3-7, venue as to the fraud claims against Buccaneer is clearly proper in Bullock County. Because venue is proper in Bullock County for the fraud claim, it is also proper in that county for the breach-of-warranty claims.
Where venue is proper in more than one county, the plaintiff may elect the forum county and the election stands, unless venue is improper in the chosen forum or the defendant demonstrates that under the doctrine of forum non conveniens the case should be transferred to another county. See Medical Service Administration v. Dickerson, 362 *175 So. 2d 906 (Ala.1978). The plaintiffs elected Bullock County as the forum, and we conclude that Bullock County is a proper forum, given the facts of this case.
Because venue is proper in Bullock County, the trial court incorrectly granted Buccaneer's motion to dismiss the action for improper venue or, alternatively, to transfer it to the Marion Circuit Court. Buccaneer has not shown a clear legal right to have the action dismissed or transferred to the Marion Circuit Court.
The plaintiffs' petition for the writ of mandamus is, therefore, due to be granted. The trial court is directed to vacate the order transferring the cause to the Circuit Court of Marion County and to restore the cause to the docket of the Circuit Court of Bullock County.
APPLICATION OVERRULED; OPINION OF MARCH 20, 1998, WITHDRAWN; OPINION SUBSTITUTED; WRIT GRANTED.
ALMON, SHORES, and KENNEDY, JJ., concur.
HOOPER, C.J., and HOUSTON, J., concur specially.
SEE and LYONS, JJ., concur in the result.
MADDOX, J., dissents.
HOUSTON, Justice (concurring specially).
Section 6-3-7, Ala.Code 1975, provides in pertinent part:
(Emphasis added.) If a person seeks damages for personal injuries in a breach-of-warranty action, as authorized by Ala.Code 1975, § 7-2-715(2)(b), he is suing for damages for personal injuries. Section 6-3-7 refers to "all actions" for personal injuries ("all" means "all," unless we are going to rewrite the statute, which I refuse to do). On original submission, I concluded that the proviso meant that a breach-of-warranty action in which the plaintiff seeks damages for personal injuries must be brought under the proviso. Although the discussion of the breach-of-warranty claim has now been deleted from the opinion on second application for rehearing, I adhere to that conclusion.
Also, on original submission, I concluded that the second prong of the proviso, "does business by agent," has been interpreted by this Court as "was doing business [by agent] in that county at the time the suit was filed." Ex parte Snoddy, 487 So. 2d 860, 861 (Ala. 1986) (Maddox, Jones, Almon, Shores, Beatty, and Adams, JJ., concurring in the per curiam opinion). I joined Chief Justice Torbert's dissent, but the majority opinion created a rule that was not without precedent: Ex parte McGugin, 423 So. 2d 1367 (Ala.1982); Bolton v. White Motor Co., 239 Ala. 168, 194 So. 510 (1940). The trial court found that Buccaneer Homes was not doing business in Bullock County when this action was filed. After reexamining the briefs and the record, I cannot say that the trial court was wrong; therefore, I remain convinced that our writ of mandamus cannot be issued under the second prong of the proviso to § 6-3-7.
Following precedent, Ex parte SouthTrust Bank of Tuscaloosa County, 619 So. 2d 1356 (Ala.1993), I originally concluded that the injury occurred in Marion County, not Bullock County, because the record indicates that the written warranty originated in Marion County. However, after reexamining the complaint, I am now satisfied that the plaintiffs are basing their fraud claims on allegations of acts or omissions that occurred in Bullock County, where the dealer explained the warranty to them. This, I believe, distinguishes this case from Ex parte SouthTrust Bank of Tuscaloosa County. For this reason, I now concur to issue our extraordinary writ of mandamus, under the first prong of the proviso, i.e., "in the county where the injury occurred."
HOOPER, C.J., concurs.
*176 LYONS, Justice (concurring in the result).
I agree that the allegations of the complaint and the affidavits are sufficient, at this stage of the proceedings, to make venue in Bullock County appropriate. However, this Court's discussion of the issues should not go beyond that conclusion, lest that discussion be viewed as barring motions for partial summary judgment that, if granted, would give rise to grounds for a transfer pursuant to Rule 82(d)(2)(B), Ala. R. Civ. P.
SEE, J., concurs.