DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION, APPELLANT,
v.
BRENDA LEE ROBINSON, JACKSON COUNTY, AND ATLANTA & ST. ANDREWS BAY RAILROAD COMPANY, APPELLEES
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The Florida Department of Transportation appealed the trial court's denial of its motion to dismiss based on venue, arguing that under common law, suits against state agencies must be brought in the county where the agency maintains its principal headquarters. The court reversed, finding DOT's venue privilege controlling and ordering transfer of the action to Leon County.
The court reversed the trial court's order, holding that DOT's common law venue privilege is controlling and that the action as it affects DOT should be transferred to Leon County, where DOT maintains its principal headquarters. DOT had not waived its privilege and the circumstances did not present an exception to the privilege.
[1] The common law venue privilege dictates that civil actions against the state or its subdivisions must be brought in the county where the state, agency, or subdivision mai…
[2] A state agency does not waive its venue privilege by failing to object to venue in a county other than its principal headquarters if the objection is raised in an alterna…
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“venue in civil actions brought against the state or one of its subdivisions properly lies in the county where the state, agency, or subdivision, maintains its principal headquarters.”
Establishes the fundamental common law venue principle at issue in the case
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceBrenda Lee Robinson filed a wrongful death complaint in Jackson County against DOT, a railroad company, and Jackson County, alleging that all defendan…
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WIGGINTON, Judge.
Appellee, Brenda Lee Robinson, filed a complaint for wrongful death in Jackson County, Florida, naming as defendants, the Florida Department of Transportation (DOT), Atlanta & St. Andrews Bay Railroad Company (Bayline), and Jackson County. In her complaint Mrs. Robinson alleged, inter alia, that all three defendants failed to provide adequate or appropriate signal warning devices, as were their respective duties, at the railroad crossing where her husband was killed in a collision with a train operated by Bayline.
Appellant, DOT, filed a motion to dismiss, incorporating an alternative prayer for change of venue to Leon County, Florida, pursuant to its common law home venue privilege. Carlile v. Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission, 354 So. 2d 362 (Fla.1977). On June 1, 1982, the trial court entered an order denying DOT’s motion and finding that venue was proper in Jackson County. Subsequent to that order, Mrs. Robinson and Jackson County entered into a settlement agreement. Because we find DOT’s venue privilege controlling here, we reverse the order of the trial court.
The common law venue privilege provides that, absent waiver or exception, “venue in civil actions brought against the state or one of its subdivisions properly lies in the county where the state, agency, or subdivision, maintains its principal headquarters.” Carlile, at 366. That principle has been consistently reaffirmed with few exceptions. See Florida Public Service Commission v. Triple “A” Enterprises, Inc., 387 So. 2d 940 (Fla.1980); Department of Corrections v. Edwards, 410 So. 2d 959 (Fla. 1st DCA 1982); County of Volusia v. Atlantic International Investment Corp., 394 So. 2d 477 (Fla. 1st DCA 1981); Department of Transportation v. Bromante, 365 So. 2d 388 (Fla. 4th DCA 1978); City of Boca Raton v. Walker, 354 So. 2d 440 (Fla. 3d DCA 1978).
DOT has not waived its privilege and the circumstances are not so extraordinary as to provide an exception to the privilege. Cf. Grice v. Bd. of County Com’rs of Madison County, 413 So. 2d 88 (Fla. 1st DCA 1982), certified question docketed, no. 62,174 (Fla. June 10, 1982). Accordingly, the cause of action, as it affects only the Department of Transportation, should be transferred to Leon County, where DOT maintains its principal headquarters.1
MILLS and ERVIN, JJ., concur. . We do not by this opinion, however, preclude the parties from moving for the trial court’s consideration of changing venue of the entire action to Leon County for purposes of convenience. See Section 47.122, Fla.Stat. (1981).
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Citator
Cited By
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Barr v. The Fla. Bd. OF Regents, 644 So. 2d 333 (Fla. 1st DCA 1994)…terprises, Inc., 387 So. 2d 940, 942 (Fla.1980); Carlile v. Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission, 354 So. 2d 362, 365 (Fla.1977); Levy County School Board v. Bowdoin, 607 So. 2d 479, 481 (Fla. 1st DCA 1992); Department of Transportation v. Robinson, 424 So. 2d 883, 884 (Fla. 1st DCA 1982). The home venue privilege is long standing and controls in most situations, but it is subject to two exceptions. Carlile, 354 So. 2d at 363-364; Graham v. Edwards, 472 So. 2d 803, 805 (Fla. 3d DCA 1985), review denied, 482 S…
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Fla. Dep't OF Transp. v. McFADDEN, 432 So. 2d 676 (Fla. 5th DCA 1983)…nsportation, 426 So. 2d 1172 (Fla. 3d DCA 1983), and with which we recognize this decision directly conflicts. REVERSED AND REMANDED. ORFINGER, C.J., and COBB, J., concur specially with opinions. . But cf. Dept. of Transportation v. Robinson, 424 So. 2d 883 (Fla. 1st DCA 1982) (where exceptional circumstances not present, Grice will not be followed.)…
Authorities Cited
- Carlile v. Game & Fresh Water Fish Comm'n of the State of Fla., 354 So. 2d 362 (Fla. 1977)
- Fla. Pub. Serv. Comm'n v. Triple "A" Enters., Inc., 387 So. 2d 940 (Fla. 1980)
- Cnty. OF Volusia v. Atl. Int'l Inv. Corp., 394 So. 2d 477 (Fla. 1st DCA 1981)
- State of Fla. Dept. OF Transp. v. Bromante, 365 So. 2d 388 (Fla. 4th DCA 1978)
- Grice v. Bd. OF Cnty. Comm'rs OF Madison Cnty., 413 So. 2d 88 (Fla. 1st DCA 1982)
- City OF Boca Raton v. Walker, 354 So. 2d 440 (Fla. 3d DCA 1978)
- State v. Edwards, 410 So. 2d 959 (Fla. 1st DCA 1982)