HEARTLAND ORGANICS, INC., A FLORIDA CORPORATION; JENNINGS FARMS, INC., A FLORIDA CORPORATION; WENDI SUE JENNINGS, AN INDIVIDUAL; AND JAMES BRYANT JENNINGS, AN INDIVIDUAL, APPELLANTS,
v.
MC DEVELOPMENTS, LLC, A FLORIDA LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY; SUNRISE GROWERS, INC., A FLORIDA CORPORATION; HEARTLAND ORGANICS, LLC, A FLORIDA LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY; AND MICHAEL L. CAUSLEY, AN INDIVIDUAL, APPELLEES
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Heartland Organics appealed a trial court order transferring their venue from Suwannee County to Dade County based on the joint residency rule. The First District Court of Appeal reversed, holding that the joint residency rule does not preclude a plaintiff from filing suit where the cause of action accrued, even when individual and corporate defendants jointly reside elsewhere.
The joint residency rule does not preclude a plaintiff from electing venue where the cause of action accrued. The rule is an exception to the statute allowing suit in any county where any defendant resides, but it is not an exception to the general venue statute permitting suit where the cause of action accrues.
[1] Venue is proper in the county where the cause of action accrues, even when a joint residency rule might otherwise apply.
[2] The joint residency rule, which dictates venue in the county of joint residence for suits involving natural persons and corporations, is an exception to the statute allow…
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“the joint residency rule does not preclude a plaintiff from electing a venue where the cause of action accrued”
Establishes the holding that the joint residency rule is limited in scope
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceHeartland Organics and related parties filed a complaint in Suwannee County alleging they were owed payment by the appellees, with the payment to occu…
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The appellants challenge an order granting the appellees’ motion to abate for im*1228proper venue and transferring the appellants’ action from Suwannee County to Dade County. The trial court granted the motion based on the joint residency rule, set out in Enfinger v. Baxley, 96 So.2d 538 (Fla.1957). Because the joint residency rule does not preclude a plaintiff from electing a venue where the cause of action accrued, we reverse the order.
The appellants filed a complaint in Suwannee County alleging that they were due payment of monies owed by the ap-pellees, which payment was to occur in Suwannee County. The appellees filed a motion to abate for improper venue, contending that pursuant to the joint residency rule, venue was proper only in Dade County, where the corporate and individual defendants resided.
In Enfinger, the Florida Supreme Court set out the joint residency rule, which requires that when a natural person is sued along with a corporate defendant, and there is a county in which both the individual and corporate entity reside, venue is proper only in the county of joint residency. 96 So.2d at 540-41. This rule is an exception to section 47.021, Florida Statutes, which provides that a plaintiff may bring an action against multiple defendants in any county in which any defendant resides.
However, the joint residency rule is not an exception to section 47.011, Florida Statutes, the general venue statute, which permits a plaintiff to file a civil action where the cause of action accrues. See Enfinger, 96 So.2d at 539-41 (finding the joint residency rule to apply where both the cause of action and the individual and corporate defendants’ residences were in the same county); Carbone v. Value Added Vacations, Inc., 791 So.2d 1217, 1220 (Fla. 5th DCA 2001) (stating “venue based on residency is proper only in the county of joint residence”). Because the cause of action in this case as alleged by the appellants accrued in Suwannee County, venue was proper in Suwannee County, and the motion to abate for improper venue should have been denied.
On facts analogous to those in this case and relying on Enfinger, the Fourth District held in Sinclair Fund, Inc. v. Burton, 623 So.2d 587 (Fla. 4th DCA 1993), that in a contract action for payment of money, venue was not proper where payment was to be made, but was only proper in the county in which the individual and corporate defendant jointly resided. We reject this interpretation of Enfinger, and certify conflict between Sinclair Fund and our decision in the present case. Accordingly, the order under review is reversed and the case is remanded.
WOLF, and DAVIS, JJ., concur.
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Mambi Cheese Co., Inc. v. SIF Land, Inc., 33 So. 3d 78 (Fla. 1st DCA 2010)…PER CURIAM. AFFIRMED. See Heartland Organics, Inc. v. MC Devs., LLC, 8 So. 3d 1227 (Fla. 1st DCA 2009). WOLF, LEWIS, and MARSTILLER, JJ., concur.…
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Pill v. Merco Grp. OF the Palm Beaches, Inc., 56 So. 3d 890 (Fla. 4th DCA 2011)…nce of the individual defendant and the location where the cause of action accrued are in the same county. Id. at 539-40. Brown v. Nagelhout, 33 So. 3d 83, 84 (Fla. 4th DCA 2010) (emphasis added); see also Heartland Organics, Inc. v. MC Devs., LLC, 8 So. 3d 1227, 1228 (Fla. 1st DCA 2009) (“[T]he joint residency rule is not an exception to section 47.011, Florida Statutes, the general venue statute, which permits a plaintiff to file a civil action where the cause of action accrues.”). We recognize that our…
Authorities Cited
- Miller v. Miller, 96 So. 2d 538 (Fla. 1957)
- The Sinclair Fund v. Burton, 623 So. 2d 587 (Fla. 4th DCA 1993)
- Carbone v. Value Added Vacations, Inc., 791 So. 2d 1217 (Fla. 5th DCA 2001)