GALE PORTER, TEMPORARY HELP, INC., A FLORIDA CORPORATION, APPELLANT,
v.
HARTFORD FIRE INSURANCE COMPANY, AND ITS SUBSIDIARIES AND AFFILIATES, A CONNECTICUT CORPORATION, AUTHORIZED TO DO BUSINESS IN FLORIDA, APPELLEE
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.
The court held that the cause of action accrued in Connecticut, not Broward County, and therefore venue in Broward County was improper under the statute.
[1] A trial court does not abuse its discretion by denying a motion to dismiss or transfer based on forum non conveniens when the record supports such a decision.
[2] Venue for actions against domestic corporations is proper in the county where the corporation has an office for business, where the cause of action accrued, or where the…
Previewing 2 of 4 headnotes on this case. FLexlaw’s editorially structured points of law — every proposition, pinpointed — are reserved for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAppellant, located in Hillsborough County, appealed an order denying its motion to dismiss or transfer venue for a suit concerning worker's compensati…
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 Forum Non Conveniens cases and more on FLexlaw
PER CURIAM.
This is an appeal from an order denying a motion to dismiss or to transfer for improper venue. The underlying suit seeks to recover certain worker’s compensation insurance premiums. Appellant, whose place of business is in Hillsborough County, objects to being sued in Broward County.
First, we reject appellant’s argument based upon the doctrine of forum non conve-niens, concluding that the trial court did not abuse its discretion in denying the motion on that ground.
Second, we examine the application of section 47.051, Florida Statutes (1991), to determine whether appellee, as plaintiff, was entitled to select Broward County as the proper venue for this action. The statute provides:
Actions against domestic corporations shall be brought only in the county where such corporation has, or usually keeps, an office for transaction of its customary business, where the cause of action accrued, or where the property in litigation is located.... The third alternative offered by the statute is inapplicable. As to the first, the parties agree that appellant is based in Hillsborough, not Broward County. This leaves only the second alternative open for discussion and the parties are in dispute as to where the cause of action accrued.
While there is very little of substance in the record to support either parties’ contentions, we conclude that there is enough to justify a conclusion that payment was demanded in Hartford, Connecticut; thus, the cause of action accrued there and not in Broward County, Florida.
While the plaintiff may select the venue, it must be one of the alternatives set forth in the statute. Air South, Inc. v. Spaziano, 547 So. 2d 314 (Fla. 4th DCA 1989). Since neither the second nor the third alternative was properly available in this case, appellee was limited to bringing the action in the county where appellant keeps an office for transaction of its customary business, Hillsborough County.
Accordingly, we reverse and remand with instructions to transfer the action to Hills-borough County.
REVERSED AND REMANDED.
HERSEY, POLEN and FARMER, JJ., concur.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By
-
Wynn Drywall, Inc. v. Aequicap Program Administrators, Inc., 953 So. 2d 28 (Fla. 4th DCA 2007)…the significance of their testimony in order to consider the convenience of the witnesses. Id. (citing Hu v. Crockett, 426 So. 2d 1275, 1279 (Fla. 1st DCA 1983)). Aequicap relies on Gale Porter, Temporary Help, Inc. v. Hartford Fire Insurance Co., 633 So. 2d 64 (Fla. 4th DCA 1994). We distinguish Porter from this case. In Porter, the appellant was sued to recover workers’ compensation insurance premiums. Id. at 64. The trial court denied appellant’s motion to transfer venue from Broward County to Hillsboro…
Authorities Cited
- AIR S., Inc. v. Spaziano, 547 So. 2d 314 (Fla. 4th DCA 1989)