R.J. REYNOLDS TOBACCO COMPANY
v.
TAMMY L. FROST, AS PERSONAL REPRESENTATIVE OF THE ESTATE OF BILLY ARANT
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A tort cause of action accrues for venue purposes in the county where the plaintiff first suffers injury, not where diagnosis or treatment occurs. Because the decedent first suffered smoking-related injuries in Putnam County, Alachua County was not a proper venue where the case could have been originally brought, and the transfer was therefore erroneous.
[1] For venue purposes in tort actions, a cause of action accrues in the county where the plaintiff first suffers injury, not in the county where diagnosis or treatment occur…
[2] Before transferring a civil action to another county under Florida Statute § 47.122, a court must first determine whether the case could have been originally brought in t…
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 intelligence“For the convenience of the parties or witnesses or in the interest of justice, any court of record may transfer any civil action to any other court of record in which it might have been brought.”
Establishes the statutory requirement that before transferring venue, the court must first determine whether the case could have originally been filed in the requested forum.
Previewing 1 of 3 key quotes on this case — the court’s exact language, pinpointed for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceBilly Arant continuously resided in Putnam County from 1972 until his death in 1995, smoking at least one pack of cigarettes daily. In January 1995, h…
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IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF FLORIDA
FIFTH DISTRICT
NOT FINAL UNTIL TIME EXPIRES TO
FILE MOTION FOR REHEARING AND
DISPOSITION THEREOF IF FILED
R.J. REYNOLDS TOBACCO
COMPANY, Case No. 5D20-1977 Appellant, v.
TAMMY L. FROST, AS PERSONAL
REPRESENTATIVE OF THE ESTATE
OF BILLY ARANT, Appellees. ________________________________/ Opinion filed September 10, 2021 Nonfinal Appeal from the Circuit Court for Volusia County, Leah Case, Judge. Marie A. Borland, and Troy A. Fuhrman, of Hill, Ward & Henderson, Tampa, and Brian
C. Lea, and Stephanie Parker, of Jones
Day, Atlanta, GA for Appellant. Shea T. Moxon, of Brannock Humphries & Berman, Tampa, and Rod Smith, and Dawn Vallejos-Nichols, of Avera & Smith, LLP, Gainesville, for Appellees.
HARRIS, J.
Appellant, R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company, appeals the trial court’s order transferring this Engle1-progeny case from Putnam County to Alachua County. Appellant argues that because the decedent first suffered injury in Putnam County, the case could not have initially been brought in Alachua County and therefore, the court’s transfer to Alachua County was error. We agree and reverse. In 2007, Appellee, Tammy L. Frost, as Personal Representative of the Estate of Billy Arant, filed a complaint in the Seventh Judicial Circuit in Putnam County against Appellant and other cigarette manufacturers for the wrongful death of her father.2 The decedent continuously resided in Putnam County from 1972 until his death in 1995. He began smoking cigarettes in his late adolescence and smoked at least one pack of cigarettes per day until April 1995. In January 1995, he experienced a feeling of congestion in his chest and subsequently coughed up blood. One month later, he visited his primary physician, also located in Putnam County, who prescribed him antibiotics. His symptoms worsened, and he was admitted to the Putnam 1 Engle v. Liggett Grp., Inc., 945 So. 2d 1246 (Fla. 2006). 2 Appellee originally filed this lawsuit in Putnam County. However, a few months later the case was transferred to Volusia County pursuant to an administrative order entered by the Chief Judge of the Seventh Circuit which assigned all tobacco related cases to the same division.
REVERSED.
LAMBERT, C.J. and COHEN, J., concur.
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