Opinion ID: 1595020
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Whether the Trial Court Erred in Denying Defendants' Motion to Transfer Venue

Text: ¶ 14. The decision to grant or deny a motion for a change of venue lies within the discretion of the trial court and will not be disturbed unless the trial court abuses its discretion. Bayer Corp. v. Reed, 932 So.2d 786, 788 (Miss.2006). In suits involving multiple defendants, venue properly established against one defendant generally is proper against all defendants. See, e.g., Wayne Gen. Hosp. v. Hayes, 868 So.2d 997, 1002 (Miss.2004); Blackledge v. Scott, 530 So.2d 1363, 1365 (Miss.1988). However, when a resident defendant on whom venue is based is dismissed from the suit, venue is proper for the remaining defendants only where (1) the action was begun in good faith in the bona fide belief that plaintiff had a cause of action against the resident defendant; (2) the joinder of the local defendant was not fraudulent or frivolous, with the intention of depriving the non-resident defendant of his right to be sued in his own county; (3) and there was a reasonable claim of liability asserted against the resident defendant. New Biloxi Hosp., Inc. v. Frazier, 245 Miss. 185, 192, 146 So.2d 882 (1962). The threshold inquiry therefore is whether Penn National may be deemed a resident defendant for the purposes of the Frazier analysis. ¶ 15. At the time the Ratliffs filed suit, Mississippi's venue statute read, in relevant part: Civil actions of which the circuit court has original jurisdiction shall be commenced in the county where the defendant resides or in the county where the alleged act or omission occurred or where the event that caused the injury occurred. Civil actions against a non-resident may also be commenced in the county where the plaintiff resides or is domiciled. Miss.Code Ann. § 11-11-3 (2002) (emphasis added). [2] In Snyder v. Logan , this Court applied the older version of the venue statute and found that a foreign corporation was deemed to reside in the county where that corporation maintained a registered agent for service of process. Snyder v. Logan, 905 So.2d 531, 532-34 (Miss.2005) ([Defendant maintained] a registered agent for service of process in Rankin County. . . . The trial court was correct in holding that venue was proper in . . . Rankin Count[y].). BSL's reliance on Plummer-Lewis Co. v. Francher, 111 Miss. 656, 71 So. 907 (1916), is misplaced. In Plummer-Lewis, this Court held that venue for a domestic corporation was found in the county of its principal place of business and not where a registered agent for service of process could be found. Id., 71 So. at 908. In the present case, because Penn National is a foreign corporation with its principal place of business in Pennsylvania, the only place where it can be said to reside in this state is where an agent for service of process may be found. The Ratliffs must therefore meet the three prongs of the Frazier test in order to maintain their action in Hinds County. ¶ 16. Because the Ratliffs have failed to plead facts sufficient to state a claim against Penn National, their claim is unreasonable, and they fail to meet the third prong of the Frazier test. See Austin v. Wells, 919 So.2d 961, 968 (Miss.2006) (failure to state a reasonable claim means that the third prong of Frazier is not met); Wayne Gen. Hosp., 868 So.2d at 1003 (failure to withstand a motion for summary judgment means that Frazier's third prong is not met). The trial court therefore erred in denying the motion to transfer venue, as there was no reasonable basis to keep Penn National in the suit.