GERALD J. TOBIN, APPELLANT,
v.
A & F ENGINEERING, A FLORIDA CORPORATION; DAVE FORKEY, AN INDIVIDUAL; VINCENT SORENA, AN INDIVIDUAL; MORDECHAI SHAHAK, AN INDIVIDUAL, APPELLEES

Fla. 3d DCA | 2008-01-23
No. 3D07-994
Before WELLS, ROTHENBERG, and SALTER, JJ.
979 So. 2d 967 Florida District Court of Appeal, Third District (2008) Positive Treatment
Cited by 6 cases

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.

Synopsis

Gerald Tobin appeals a trial court order transferring his complaint from Miami-Dade County to Palm Beach County based on improper venue selection. The court affirms, holding that venue is proper only in Palm Beach County where the defendants reside, where the causes of action accrued, and where the property in litigation is located.


Holding

Venue was improper in Miami-Dade County and must be transferred to Palm Beach County. As a matter of law, all statutory venue requirements point to Palm Beach County: the corporate defendant has its sole office there, the individual defendants reside there, all causes of action (including conversion) accrued there, and the property in litigation is located there.


Headnotes

[1] Venue is proper in the county where a domestic corporation has its principal place of business, where the cause of action accrued, or where the property in litigation is…

[2] Venue is proper in the county where a defendant resides, where the cause of action accrued, or where the property in litigation is located.

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Key Quotes

“[W]hen a trial court is presented with a motion to transfer venue based on the impropriety of the plaintiffs venue selection, the defendant is arguing that, as a matter of law, the lawsuit has been filed in the wrong forum. In order to rule on such a motion, the trial court needs to resolve any relevant factual disputes and then make a legal decision whether the plaintiffs venue selection is legally supportable.”

Establishes the legal standard for reviewing venue transfer motions and the nature of the inquiry as a pure question of law once facts are established.

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Facts & Procedural History

Tobin filed a complaint in Miami-Dade County asserting claims for conversion, fraud, and breach of oral contract against A & F Engineering (a Florida …

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Opinion of the Court
ROTHENBERG, Judge.

ROTHENBERG, Judge.

The plaintiff, Gerald J. Tobin (“Tobin”), appeals from a non-final order transferring his complaint from Miami-Dade County to Palm Beach County based on the trial court’s finding that Tobin’s choice of venue was improper, and that pursuant to statute, venue would only be proper in Palm Beach County. As we find no error, we affirm.

In the instant case, Tobin filed a complaint asserting claims for conversion, fraud, and breach of oral contract against A & F Engineering (“A & F”), Dave For-key (“Forkey”), Vincent Sorena (“Sore-na”), and Mordechai Shahak (“Shahak”) (collectively, “the defendants”). Thereafter, the defendants moved to dismiss or to transfer Tobin’s complaint to Palm Beach County, arguing that venue was improper in Miami-Dade County. During the hearing on the motion to dismiss or transfer, although Tobin conceded that the fraud and breach of contract claims accrued in Palm Beach County, Tobin argued that venue was proper in Miami-Dade County as the conversion claim accrued in Miami-Dade County.

As the facts relating to Tobin’s choice of venue are not in dispute, the order transferring venue to Palm Beach County turns on a question of law, and therefore, this Court’s standard of review is de novo. As stated in Pricewaterhouse-Coopers LLP v. Cedar Resources, Inc., 761 So. 2d 1131, 1133 (Fla. 2d DCA 1999):

[W]hen a trial court is presented with a motion to transfer venue based on the impropriety of the plaintiffs venue selection, the defendant is arguing that, as a matter of law, the lawsuit has been filed in the wrong forum. In order to rule on such a motion, the trial court needs to resolve any relevant factual disputes and then make a legal decision whether the plaintiffs venue selection is legally supportable.

As a matter of law, we conclude that Tobin’s venue selection was improper as the corporate defendant, A & F, has its sole corporate office in Palm Beach County, not Miami-Dade County, see § 47.051, Fla. Stat. (2006);1 the individual defendants (Forkey, Sorena, and Shahak) reside in Palm Beach County, not Miami-Dade County, see § 47.011, Fla. Stat. (2006);2 the causes of action, including the conversion claim, accrued in Palm Beach County, not Miami-Dade County, see §§ 47.011, 47.051, Fla. Stat. (2006); Nicholas v. Ross, 721 So. 2d 1241 (Fla. 4th DCA 1998) (reversing denial of motion to transfer action to Hillsborough County where defendant resides in Hillsborough County and “cause of action accrued when [defendant] obtained possession of the funds by deposit to her account, which took place in Hills-borough County”); and the property in litigation is located in Palm Beach County, not Miami-Dade County, see §§ 47.011, 47.051, Fla. Stat. (2006). Therefore, we affirm the trial court’s non-final order transferring Tobin’s complaint from Miami-Dade County to Palm Beach County.

Affirmed.

. Section 47.051, Florida Statutes (2006), provides, in part, as follows: "Actions against corporations. — 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.”

. Section 47.011, Florida Statutes (2006), provides, in part: "Where actions may be begun. — Actions shall be brought only in the county where the defendant resides, where the cause of action accrued, or where the property in litigation is located.”


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Citator

Cited By

  • Sorena v. Gerald J. Tobin, P.A., 47 So. 3d 875 (Fla. 3d DCA 2010)
    …to perform the work in a satisfactory manner. In March 2007, the trial court entered an order transferring the First-Filed Action to the Palm Beach County circuit court. The trial court’s order was affirmed by this Court, see Tobin v. A & F Eng’g, 979 So. 2d 967 (Fla. 3d DCA 2008), and the case is now pending in Palm Beach County, see Tobin v. A & F Eng’g, No. 2007 CA 006302 (Fla. 15th Cir. Ct. filed Apr. 24, 2007). The pleadings are not closed and the case has not been set for trial. Shortly after the Fir…
  • Se. Concrete Constructors v. W. Sur. Co., 331 So. 3d 763 (Fla. 2d DCA 2021)
    …d and granted Western Surety's motion transferring venue to Levy County under the terms of the Subcontract. The order transferring venue turns on a question of law, and therefore, this court's standard of review is de novo. See Tobin v. A&F Eng'g, 979 So. 2d 967, 968 (Fla. 3d DCA 2008). In the instant case, Southeastern Concrete filed a single-count complaint against Western Surety—the surety—pursuant to the Bond without also naming the General Contractor, as is permitted under section 337.18. See § 337.18…
  • Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. v. Ean-Hui OOI, 386 So. 3d 218 (Fla. 3d DCA 2023)
    …oceedings; indeed, it does not dispute the findings of the Australian Court in this appeal. evidentiary hearing was necessary.3 Florida High Sch. Athletic Ass’n, Inc. v. Johnson, 279 So. 3d 794, 796 (Fla. 3d DCA 2019) (quoting Tobin v. A&F Eng'g, 979 So. 2d 967, 968 (Fla. 3d DCA 2008) (“‘[W]hen a trial court is presented with a motion to transfer venue based on the impropriety of the plaintiff's venue selection, the defendant is arguing that, as a matter of law, the lawsuit has been filed in the wrong foru…

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