Court Opinion

ID: 9757578
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-28 22:48:25.201062+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:28:41.250677
License: Public Domain

JOHNSON, Judge,
dissenting:
Because I find that the medical center has not demonstrated on the record that trial of this matter in Philadelphia County would be oppressive, vexatious, or cause undue hardship, as required by the recent supreme court case of Scola v. AC & S, *43Inc., 540 Pa. 353, 657 A.2d 1234 (1995), I must respectfully dissent.
Pursuant to Pa.R.C.P. 1006(d)(1), “[f]or the convenience of parties and -witnesses the court upon petition of any party may transfer an action to the appropriate court of any other county where the action could originally have been brought.” On appeal from an order granting a petition to transfer, this Court may not disturb such an order absent an abuse of discretion. Rubin v. Lehman, 443 Pa.Super. 1, 3-5, 660 A.2d 636, 638 (1995). “ ‘[I]f the trial court has not held the defendant ] to [the] proper burden or has clearly erred in weighing the factors to be considered, the equivalent of an abuse of discretion has been demonstrated.’ ” Petty v. Suburban Gen. Hosp., 363 Pa.Super. 277, 282, 525 A.2d 1230, 1232-33 (1987), quoting Reyno v. Piper Aircraft Co., 630 F.2d 149, 160 (3d Cir.1980), rev’d on other grounds, 454 U.S. 235, 102 S.Ct. 252, 70 L.Ed.2d 419 (1981).
The United States Supreme Court has stated:
Where there are only two parties to a dispute, there is good reason why it should be tried in the plaintiffs home forum if that has been his choice. He should not be deprived of the presumed advantages of his home jurisdiction except upon a clear showing of facts which either (1) establish such oppressiveness and vexation to a defendant as to be out of all proportion to plaintiffs convenience, which may be shown to be slight or nonexistent, or (2) make trial in the chosen forum inappropriate because of considerations affecting the court’s own administrative and legal problems.
Koster v. Lumbermens Mut. Casualty Co., 330 U.S. 518, 524, 67 S.Ct. 828, 831-32, 91 L.Ed. 1067, 1074 (1947). In 1980, the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit adopted these principles and further explained that “court[s] must balance these private and public interest factors, ‘[b]ut unless the balance is strongly in favor of the defendant, the plaintiffs choice of forum should rarely be disturbed.’ ” Reyno, supra, at 159, quoting Gulf Oil Co. v. Gilbert, 330 U.S. 501, 508, 67 S.Ct. 839, 843, 91 L.Ed. 1055, 1062 (1947). Subsequently, our state courts have adopted the standards set forth in Koster *44and Reyno and have applied them to cases in which there are more than two parties. Scola, supra; Okkerse v. Howe, 521 Pa. 509, 556 A.2d 827 (1989); Incollingo v. McCarron, 416 Pa.Super. 419, 611 A.2d 287 (1992). “ ‘Thus, the party seeking a change of venue bears a heavy burden in justifying the request, and it has been consistently held that this burden includes the demonstration on the record of the claimed hardships.’ ” Scola, supra, at 367, 657 A.2d at 1241, quoting Okkerse, supra, at 518, 556 A.2d at 832.
In German v. AC & S, Inc., 430 Pa.Super. 497, 635 A.2d 159 (1993), a panel of this Court considered whether the trial court erred in its disposition of twenty-one asbestos-related cases. In eleven of those appeals, we determined that the trial court erred in dismissing the plaintiffs’ complaints and directing them to re-file in New Jersey. In the remaining ten appeals, we considered whether the trial court erred in granting petitions to transfer the actions from Philadelphia County to three neighboring counties. In regard to those ten appeals, we concluded that the trial court had properly transferred the cases. In doing so, we stated that the trial court
considered the various elements affecting the private interests of the parties, including current residence, location of exposure, work history, witness location, and sources of proof. The trial court also considered the public interest factors, the most important of which was increasing court congestion created by ... asbestos cases. The trial court weighed these various factors and determined that the public interest factors weighed heavily in favor of transferring these cases.
Id. at 516-17, 635 A.2d at 169. Because we found no abuse of discretion, we affirmed the order transferring those ten cases. Id. However, four of those ten plaintiffs appealed to our supreme court, arguing that the trial court had failed to accord sufficient deference to their choice of forum. The supreme court agreed, and, in Scola, supra, reversed that portion of German which upheld the transfer of those cases on forum non conveniens grounds. In doing so, the court explained that a party who seeks a change of venue must *45demonstrate, on the record, that he or she would be unduly burdened or suffer hardship if the trial were to take place in the plaintiffs choice of forum. Id. at 366-68, 657 A.2d at 1241. The court stated that, although factors such as court congestion are relevant to a determination whether to transfer a case, the court must also give deference to the plaintiffs choice of forum. Id. Thus, the court concluded that the trial court abused its discretion in ordering the cases to be transferred “where there [was] no showing on the record by [defendants] as to how trial in Philadelphia County would prove oppressive or vexatious.” Id.
The Majority concludes that the present case is factually distinguishable from Scola because the medical center “ha[s] stated sufficient public and private interests to support [its] petition to transfer the ... case.” Majority op. at 41. I disagree. Here, the trial court granted the medical center’s petition to transfer the action based upon the medical center’s assertions that the parties and a majority of the witnesses and sources of proof are located in Bucks County, and that the alleged negligence giving rise to the action took place in Bucks County. Trial Court Opinion, dated August 29, 1994, at 4. The court further stated that the only connection the action has with Philadelphia County is that some of the medical providers do business there. Id. In addition, the court relied on the fact that Philadelphia County courts have extremely crowded dockets and that trial in Philadelphia County would be inequitable to that county’s residents. Id. at 5. These factors are strikingly similar to those cited by this Court in German, supra, where we affirmed the transfer of ten cases on forum non conveniens grounds. Although this Court found no abuse of discretion in the trial court’s determination, the supreme court, in Scola, reversed our decision. Here, as in Scola, the trial court did not find, nor did the medical center demonstrate, that trial in Philadelphia County would be oppressive, vexatious, or cause the medical center undue hardship. As previously stated, a defendant is required to support his petition to transfer with record evidence. See Scola, supra; Okkerse, supra; Rubin, supra. Although the Majority states that the facts alleged by the medical center are sup*46ported by the record, neither the Majority nor the trial court provide citations to any record evidence that supports those allegations. In fact, the medical center did not file affidavits, take depositions, or establish any record evidence whatsoever to support its petition. Scola clearly states that it is an abuse of discretion to grant a petition to transfer an action where there has been no showing on the record that trial in the original forum would prove oppressive or vexatious. Scola, at 366-68, 657 A.2d at 1241. Further, it is the function of this Court “to maintain and effectuate the decisional law of [our supreme court] as faithfully as possible.” Commonwealth v. Dugger, 506 Pa. 537, 545, 486 A.2d 382, 386 (1985). Thus, following the dictates of Scola, I must conclude that the trial court abused its discretion in ordering transfer of this matter, as it failed to hold the medical center to the proper burden. Petty, supra (where court does not hold defendant to proper burden, an abuse of discretion has been demonstrated). See also Keuther v. Snyder, 444 Pa.Super. 468, 664 A.2d 168 (1995) (trial court abused its discretion in transferring the action where it based its determination on defendant’s assertions that the parties, witnesses and evidence were all located in Bucks County, that the accident occurred in Bucks County, that the Philadelphia County courts had extremely crowded dockets, and that allowing the case to proceed in Philadelphia County would be inequitable to residents of that county, because the record was devoid of any mention that trial in Philadelphia County would be oppressive, vexatious, or cause defendants hardship); Rubin, supra, at 7, 660 A.2d at 639 (“the lack of any record regarding private factors clearly serves to negate any meaningful balance of public and private factors to determine if they weigh so strongly in favor of the moving party as to warrant disturbing the plaintiffs choice of forum”).
Based upon the foregoing, I would reverse the order granting the petition to transfer the action and remand this case to the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County. Hence, this dissent.
McEWEN and DEL SOLE, JJ., join.