STATE OF FLORIDA, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION, APPELLANT,
v.
KEITH ASHLEY AND HYACINTH ASHLEY, HIS WIFE, PAULETTE ASHLEY, A MINOR BY AND THROUGH HER PARENTS AND NEXT FRIENDS, APPELLEES
AI-generated. These summaries, headnotes, and key points are machine-generated and may contain errors or omissions. Always verify against the full opinion text below. Not legal advice.
Florida's Department of Transportation properly invoked the common law venue rule requiring tort actions against state agencies to be brought in the county where the agency maintains its principal headquarters, here Leon County, reversing the trial court's denial of the motion to dismiss for improper venue.
Venue in tort actions against a state agency lies in the county where the agency maintains its principal headquarters, and no statutory exception exists for such tort claims.
[1] Venue in tort actions against a state agency lies in the county where the agency maintains its principal headquarters; no statutory exception to this common law rule exis…
Previewing 1 of 1 headnotes on this case. FLexlaw’s editorially structured points of law — every proposition, pinpointed — are reserved for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“The common law rule that venue in civil actions brought against the state or one of its agencies properly lies in the county where the state or agency maintains its principal headquarters has consistently been followed in Florida.”
Court explaining the controlling venue rule for actions against state agencies
Keith Ashley, Hyacinth Ashley, and their minor daughter Paulette Ashley brought an action against the Florida Department of Transportation, apparently…
The full statement of facts, procedural history, and disposition for this case are member content.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence© FLexlaw, Inc. — AI-generated enrichments are proprietary. All rights reserved.
Explore caselaw by topic → Browse Principal Place Of Business cases and more on FLexlaw
HERSEY, Judge.
This is an appeal from a non-final order denying a motion to dismiss for improper venue. We reverse on the authority of State of Florida Department of Transportation v. Bromante, 365 So. 2d 388 (Fla.4th DCA 1978). The common law rule that venue in civil actions brought against the state or one of its agencies properly lies in the county where the state or agency maintains its principal headquarters has consistently been followed in Florida. Carlile v. Game & Fresh Water Fish Commission, 354 So. 2d 362 (Fla.1977). An exception in the case of contract actions was legislatively created. § 377.19 Fla.Stat. (1979). No such exception exists for causes of action sounding in tort. We have previously expressed our views as to the wisdom of this rule and the policy reasons that support it. Game & Fresh Water Fish Commission v. Carlile, 341 So. 2d 1015 (Fla.4th DCA 1977). Accordingly, we reverse the order appealed from and remand this cause with directions to transfer the case to Leon County as it pertains to appellant or, at the option of the plaintiffs, to dismiss appellant from the cause without prejudice to plaintiffs’ right to bring an independent action against appellant in Leon County.
REVERSED AND REMANDED WITH DIRECTIONS.
DOWNEY and ANSTEAD, JJ., concur.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Authorities Cited
- Carlile v. Game & Fresh Water Fish Comm'n of the State of Fla., 354 So. 2d 362 (Fla. 1977)
- State of Fla. Dept. OF Transp. v. Bromante, 365 So. 2d 388 (Fla. 4th DCA 1978)
- Game & Fresh Water Fish Comm'n of the State of Fla. v. Carlile, 341 So. 2d 1015 (Fla. 4th DCA 1977)