WILLIE E. BROWN AND BRENDA BROWN, HUSBAND AND WIFE, APPELLANTS,
v.
KIM J. NAGELHOUT, INDIVIDUALLY, HELENA CHEMICAL CO., INC., A FOREIGN CORPORATION, AND CSX TRANSPORTATION, INC., A FOREIGN CORPORATION, APPELLEES

Fla. 4th DCA | 2010-04-07
No. 4D09-4140
HAZOURI and MAY, JJ., concur.
33 So. 3d 83 Florida District Court of Appeal, Fourth District (2010) Negative Treatment
Cited by 6 cases

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Synopsis

The Browns filed suit in Broward County against Nagelhoot, Helena Chemical, and CSX for a collision occurring in Pasco County. The trial court transferred venue to Pasco County under the joint residency rule, and the appellate court affirmed, holding that when an individual defendant and corporate defendant share a county of residence where the cause of action also accrued, venue properly lies in that common county even if other defendants reside elsewhere.


Holding

The joint residency rule applies, and venue properly lies in Pasco County as the common county of residence between Nagelhout and Helena Chemical, regardless of CSX's residence in another county. An individual defendant maintains a venue privilege in his or her county of residence when that county is also where the cause of action accrued, and this privilege is maintained even when the individual defendant is sued with corporate defendants residing in the same county.


Headnotes

[1] An order granting a motion to transfer venue based on a plaintiff's erroneous venue selection is subject to de novo review.

[2] Venue for 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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Key Quotes

“the individual defendant maintains this venue privilege in his or her county of residence when the individual defendant is sued together with a corporate defendant and the corporate defendant resides in the same county as the individual defendant”

Establishes the core holding of the joint residency rule from Enfinger

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Facts & Procedural History

The Browns filed a complaint in Broward County against Nagelhout, Helena Chemical Co., Inc., and CSX Transportation, Inc. for a collision that occurre…

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Opinion of the Court
DAMOORGIAN, J.

DAMOORGIAN, J.

The Browns appeal the trial court’s order granting Kim J. Nagelhout, Helena Chemical Co., Inc., and CSX Transportation, Inc.’s motion to transfer venue from Broward County to Pasco County, Florida. We affirm.

The Browns filed a complaint in Bro-ward County against Nagelhout, Helena Chemical, and CSX, alleging multiple causes of action for a collision that occurred in Pasco County. Nagelhout and Helena Chemical subsequently filed a motion to transfer venue from Broward Coun*84ty to Pasco County, and CSX joined in the motion. The trial court granted the motion to transfer venue, relying upon what is now known as the joint residency rule enunciated by the Florida Supreme Court in Enfinger v. Baxley, 96 So.2d 538 (Fla.1957). The court concluded that venue lies in Pasco County because Nagelhout and Helena Chemical both reside there. On appeal, the Browns contend that the joint residency rule does not apply to the facts of this case.

A trial court’s order granting a motion to transfer venue based on a plaintiffs erroneous venue selection is subject to de novo review. See Blackhawk Quarry Co. of Fla., Inc. v. Hewitt Contracting Co., 931 So.2d 197, 199 (Fla. 5th DCA 2006) (citing PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP v. Cedar Res., Inc., 761 So.2d 1131, 1133 (Fla. 2d DCA 1999)).

Our review requires application of two venue statutes. Section 47.011, Florida Statutes (2009), provides that “[ajctions 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.” In cases involving multiple defendants residing in different counties, actions “may be brought in any county in which any defendant resides.” See § 47.021, Fla. Stat. (2009). However, the Florida Supreme Court has determined that venue lies in the county where an individual defendant and corporate defendant share a residence, which is also the location where the cause of action accrued. Enfinger, 96 So.2d at 539-41.

In Enfinger, the Florida Supreme Court stated that an individual defendant has a venue privilege in his or her county of residence in those instances in which the residence of the individual defendant and the location where the cause of action accrued are in the same county. Id. at 539-40. The court noted that the individual defendant maintains this venue privilege in his or her county of residence when the individual defendant is sued together with a corporate defendant and the corporate defendant resides in the same county as the individual defendant. Id. at 540-41. Under these circumstances, the court concluded that venue lies in the common county of residence between the individual and the corporate defendant. Id.; see Lifemark Hosps. of Fla., Inc. v. Roque, 727 So.2d 1077, 1078 (Fla. 4th DCA 1999). The principle outlined in Enfinger ultimately became known as the joint residency rule. See Lifemark Hosps., 727 So.2d at 1078.

In this case, the Browns incorrectly argue that the joint residency rule does not apply where all defendants do not share a county of residence. The trial court found that (a) the Browns resided in Broward County; (b) Nagelhout resided in Pasco County; (c) Helena Chemical had a business residence in Pasco County; and (d) CSX’s principal place of residence was in Duval County. The Browns’ causes of action also accrued in Pasco County. Given these facts, Nagelhout has a venue privilege in Pasco County, and he maintains this venue privilege even though he was sued together with Helena Chemical and CSX. See Enfmger, 96 So.2d at 539-41. Therefore, under the joint residency rule articulated in Enfinger, venue lies in Pasco County, which is the common county of residence between Nagelhout and Helena Chemical. See id,, at 540-41; Lifemark Hosps., 727 So.2d at 1078 (holding that the joint residency rule applies “even if one or more codefendants also reside in other counties”).

We find no merit to any of the other issues raised by the Browns. Accordingly, we affirm the trial court’s order granting *85the motion to transfer venue from Bro-ward County to Pasco County.

HAZOURI and MAY, JJ., concur.


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Citator

Cited By

  • Brown v. Nagelhout, 84 So. 3d 304 (Fla. 2012)
    …held that the selection of venue based on residency was limited to the county of residence shared by the individual defendant and the corporate defendant. We have for review the decision of the Fourth District Court of Appeal in Brown v. Nagelhout, 33 So. 3d 83 (Fla. 4th DCA 2010), which, based on the joint residency rule, affirmed the grant of a motion for a change of venue to the county of residence shared by the individual defendant and one corporate defendant where there was not a county of residence c…
  • Pill v. Merco Grp. OF the Palm Beaches, Inc., 56 So. 3d 890 (Fla. 4th DCA 2011)
    …al defendant has a venue privilege in his or her county of residence in those instances in which the residence 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, wh…
    1 / 2
  • Brown v. Nagelhout, 126 So. 3d 1093 (Fla. 4th DCA 2012)
    …DAMOORGIAN, J. We reconsider on remand our opinion in Brown v. Nagelhout, 33 So. 3d 83 (Fla. 4th DCA 2010), which was quashed by the Florida Supreme Court following its decision in Brown v. Nagelhout, 84 So. 3d 304 (Fla.2012). Based on the Supreme Court’s holding in Brown, applying the plain language of sections 47.011, 47.021, and…

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