the time in which we start all of these things i went to the wrong courthouse the last time i argued before this court shortly clerk for this report and i had gone to the room over there and so i went over there an hour early so i guess barely made it here for thirty minutes or so here i am so i'm just this is you i know you're familiar with the issue of the case and what we're here for did today we have a tragedy in which i represent mr pratt who suffered horrific furniture ease and ultimately died he was three weeks here in i disagree about many things we want disagree about this and i put in the brief a t m wanted to get to the heart of the matter with the motion to transfer they didn't want to do with discovery and worse resisting which is their right and ultimately the judge heard the motion and granted the motion to transfer back to adams county where my client is was from and where the currents took place the are standard review is an abuse of discretion standard and i would note that it's in the context of what t such form do not greatly outweigh the plaintiff's substantial right to try the case the chosen form and just before you ask me i know what you're going to ask will mr bruce is in no soups no or what's the question when the playing of doesn't reside in the county in which they bring the action right so that's an issue that's raised in the pre and my response that of course is what lang of course tells us from the supreme court is it's not no deference it's less deference when the playing of does not reside in that chosen form but the language the supreme court used in lang of course was fairly strong about what the defendants is a defense heard what they have to show to transfer of the matter and that's what we think this will surely lacking here the plainest form choice should rarely be to serve unless the other fractures strongly favor transfer so that's the context that we're all here right that's the hurdle that the defense has to establish so i know this for a st question but your perspective for all question is the standard of review which essentially means that case just as it is as a former player and as someone a practice in public court i am a man of the what's in the record and i know that from reading your opinions you feel the same way what's in the record right so you know have you read mine one of our principle positions is there's a completely different there's a complete lack of competent evidence before this court which would suggest that this matter should be transferred to adams county so what is that if we start with wang that they have to have competent evidence in order to make their arguments to work they have not it's not just you know contradict that there's not a single deposition that they have cited to the record that's before you that suggests clear if they're going to talk about and if you are opinion whatever it may be if it's going to be based at all upon the location of the witnesses you have no evidence that supports their right i disclosed to thirteen answers and i mean if there was disclosed  witnesses at trial that were medical physicians and then the medical examiner that had the cause of death and before they kick that i understand there's been a decision out of the th district court shaw and i think that that's a very interesting decision because what languor said is the only supreme court told us and languor says we look at treating physicians as relevant witnesses in a valley the fact that's what the supreme court said so i can't reconcile i was in council i'm sure i don't know how they came up with that decision but at the end of the day what the court said lives and lame horse no evidence david's have been filed stating that saint clair will be an inconvenient form form for any of the witnesses right and then they will want to say defendants ignore important witnesses located in bellville st clair county st louis missouri springfield so when the lange and hearst decision like to hear him decision there were a lot of witnesses located a lot of different directions and the supreme court has been very clear about that rule of law as well when they're scattered in all different directions they don't go to the defendant's place for that is not more convenient here we've got to in texas we don't want to make every county we've got one of the three the sole eyewitness of this occurrence is in this are the sole like witness so we've got to in cave i mean that's thirty six minutes away in decatur it's not adams county so the convenience the irony of this is the convenience for the important ones in missouri and two over in macon county so how is it that a substantial overwhelming majority of the witnesses  mandatory absolutely we all agree on that is there a tremendous burden of proof and so that's how the lawyers do it they provide affidavits and you look at this branford case in fact the appellate court said that case the record in this case is quite remarkable and i think this is interesting for this case and then they continue to say other than the obvious convenience to the defendants if they were defending the action in their own form they fail to identify any nonparty witness from the can to keep counting neither this court and i think this is pertinent for our discussions here today addresses and what you're going to testify to and then he continues and then he ultimately says although we continue to believe the center arbitrary is premature in an effort to resolve discovery streets to find if the following is a list and i want to quote this because the case law that i want to walk through with you talks about that this is woefully insufficient when they talk about potential possible witnesses etc the following is a list of potential lay witnesses who may testify a trial and m their office address they don't have identify their subject to their testimony and most importantly and i would i would ask mr terry when he stands up here where do you show that any of these witnesses who are may possibly potentially witnesses who may testify but he doesn't say anything about we don't know where they were we don't know where they were dresses we don't know why he's going to call them a troll and that runs afoul of all of this case law and there is no evidence that any of these people would be inconvenienced by that madison county would be an inconvenience for for any of the witnesses and based on that they said they didn't meet their burden of proof in the early one vs motorola case same thing over and over again in fact motorola has not provided the name address  single witness it intends to call a trial nor for that matter what if any relevant testimony of those witnesses must provide since the burden of proof lies with motorola under these circumstances we are not at liberty to speculate about of what this is where a problem or a willingness to testify  in his brief as to who they're going to call the trial date we talk about we'll while gas witnesses they don't tell us he says in the oil and potentially its customers will be a significant source of testimony and evidence through this live from st louis the medical examiner some st louis from springfield and the supreme court is telling us in the land worst decision we do look at where the treating physicians and the one thousand state is when we're making this decision are there afoul to the supreme court decision for the reason i just told you i don't know how they get around that and with this request telling us you look at treating physicians the pathologist and then the other issue is the other issue is the case it is the enterprise carcase the for emotion in fact the record now i think exceeds a one thousand pages obviously for as the record i have it on counsel's table and you can see the length of the wrapper but it contained in that record of our sworn in arrive at tory's a plethora of information regarding who the witnesses are where the witnesses are located so when plaintiff gets up here and says well we don't know where the neal the the following the accident they were then followed by lieutenant allen thurman monger who performed a an extensive investigation of the accident scene that bad investigation is located at pages three  m ploy he had the direction of steve that person and electrical superintendent connected an electric motor to the pump mr whitman and mr edison both reside in adams county so there so all three let me ll of them so lieutenant monger comes out to the scene immediately or so he's the fire an arson investigator now six representatives of the quincy hart apartments are immediately who yeah well i think there was there was one individual who's subsequently i think took part in the oh sure investigation he was not on scen s they chose not to do so i i you know i don't i'm not privy to their motives for doing so i think the record on the probably thought there are several years now several days ago you were talking about word and what the supreme court in the bland decision said was the expense to the defendant of transporting witnesses to madison county and maintaining them is obvious as it is the greater inconvenience to the witnesses so that's all our supreme court now i know that plaintiff wants to focus on playing in forest at the expense of dog but doughtery who is very clear in fact just this kilbride bright line that affidavits are required or not required in fact there was some discussion is prior to the case being filed plaintive sends a letter to a t m with a draft complaint in which they acknowledge in the draft complaint that adams county would be the could most i'm quoting adams county would be the most appropriate and convenient for the witnesses and evidence now at the argument on the forum motion mr bruce stood out for the very  time and said well that that's a fool for a wait settlement communication i argued no it's not being offered for the purposes of of liability it's just being offered as an attorney for appropriate and convenient forum for witnesses and evidence so having that in our quiver i guess having that in the record it strikes if certainly strikes me that we have a of forum shopping going on i mean i think clearly the port statistics demonstrate that adams county is far less congested in fact of the statistics show that as of the other two thousand and seventeen or only twelve sorry actually going into the public and private interests factor yes yes and so i don't i don't know perception that the jury is maybe more the to suggest that members of the quincy fire department who performed a significant investigation and transported mr pratt to the hospital care for him during that crucial period of time should be required to come to sanger as well as public servants and quincy i find it remarkable to suggest that there would be no inconvenience hall i've had people wait the entire thing all and have to come back the next day if the trial six were held in adams county the fire department members would be a phone call away and could be there in five or ten minutes the same the same is to the acts of moreover there is some there's certainly a dispute in the briefing as to whether a site inspection would be or would be appropriate that that's something for the trial court to decide not not certainly for this cour decide but the let me just talk briefly about the site because first of all we do have to into probably for us to consider that in terms of the ability sure of course the ability and certainly the ability would be far more easy to work a case to be held in adams county now the plaintiff and their brief suggested well if the site has changed what is changed about the site is the underground tank has been removed but that tank wouldn't have been visible to the day after the accident but what of what is in the record and the photographs demonstrate that are in the record are the pulpy acquitted and that is being stored act presently and in fact is the record makes clear the st thing plaintiff did after filing the complaint was the secret preservation order and inspection of it were in fact prior to the lawsuit being filed there were three inspections so suddenly we're now to believe that it's an important that a site inspection or review of these bulky equip is needed and that just i think that is alive by the record i mean there were three inspections prior to the lawsuit being filed there was a motion to preserve evidence that was filed the record shows the car the electric motor  nozzle that was being used all of that is being stored in adams county and was solely for that plaintive before we even appeared in the case file a motion in salmon county to preserve th evidence and to perform an inspection so all of that equipment biplanes own concession is important to the central to the case now to suggest that a d m should be required to positions we're going to testify live at trial i think is almost nonexistent clearly our rules provide for evidence depositions of physicians i think the case law certainly  from the supreme court in our appellate courts counsel against putting too much weight on location of treating physicians particularly in a case such as this where the it's not a medical malpractise case the care and prepared just as i don't know how clearly much more i can put it you asked a direct question which i raise in my briefs of mr satiric where in this record does he identify the witnesses the addresses what they're going to identifying answers to nerac tori's about trial witnesses the point of this is they have the burden of telling us the court who they're going to call the trial what they're going to testify to and is it inconvenient for them to come so we know these that taken into consideration all the trial witnesses all the other people he in a blanket list there's no addresses to all of those steps just a complete boldface untruth there is not in this and for sixty three of where he identifies he keeps going back to it as a proof all those people's addresses aren't there and he can't point you to who they are and what they're going to testify to i mean the supreme court states exactly what he did finally definitive list which is exactly what he did here ambulance personnel hospital personnel firefighters and auto body repair personnel from clinton county as potential witnesses he used that word in his letter and the supreme court says but  have not identified with these people are where they live or what if any relevant testimony they might provide that's i mean that is absolutely off course with what he has done here throw out here you guys find it in the record and if we can find somebody that has some semblance of adams county that is not there they have not met their burden of proof all of this discussion i just got through hearing about what this doctor did and what that doctor did and transfer him none of that is in the record none of that is disclosed as a two thirteen f three none of that has been disclosed to them about whose that's just mistress of tara talking i want to be clear on this because you know we are confined by the records and competent evidence he doesn't have any competent evidence this say that the whole principle all this case law is he's got an affidavit that says that for each of these people and then we examine the other he's gotten up and what about i mean this is shocking to me it's just a general discussion about all the stance your question you ask a good question justice about what other people were here not just a term i'm sorry if it was you what other people were in springfield outside of adams county there are a number of witnesses which i put in our answers that are arriving to as we've got to trial m they're both quality safety people and they're both in macomb county so there's all kinds of witnesses this is your and all over again the witnesses are ready for including my doctor physicians right he wants me to just accept that it's inconvenient for adams count people to come here but it's not inconvenient for me to take my treating patients improve this week after three weeks in the medical center to ask our i mean you can't have your you know which way is it right it's our choice of form right it's our choice of form they have the