Pennsylvania Superior Court Reaffirms Test for Proper Venue Over Corporate Defendant ("Non-Precedential" But Still Informative)

In a recent memorandum, "non-precedential" decision in the case of Gordon v. JFBB Ski Areas, Inc.,  (Pa.Super. Feb. 13, 2015 Lazarus, Wecht, and Strassburger, J.J.)(mem. op. by Wecht, J.), the Pennsylvania Superior Court addressed the test of proper venue for a corporate defendant based upon the analysis of where the Defendant corporation conducted business in the Commonwealth.

Judge David N. Wecht
Pennsylvania Superior Court

Applying Pa.R.C.P. 2179 and related case law, Judge Wecht's Opinion in Gordon, albeit marked "non-precedential," could serve as a good starting point for a review of the current status of the law in this regard.

The court ultimately ruled that incidental advertising activities by a ski resort, even if such activities resulted in a small percentage of sales in a certain jurisdiction did not constitute sufficient contacts to justify venue in a certain county.

In this matter, the court ultimately affirmed the Philadelphia County trial court's sustaining of a Defendant's Preliminary Objections asserting improper venue and transferring a personal injury matter from Philadelphia County to Carbon County where the Defendant ski resort was located and where the Plaintiff was injured.

Anyone wishing to review this decision may click this LINK.