Trial Court Transfers Case Out of Philadelphia Under Doctrine of Forum Non Conveniens

In the case of Van Horn v. The Giant Company, No. 220303215 (C.P. Phila. Co. Nov. 13, 2023 Carpenter, J.), the court filed a Rule 1925 Opinion requesting the Superior Court to affirm the trial court’s Order granting the Defendant’s Motion to Transfer Venue on this slip and fall case from Philadelphia County to Montgomery County.

The Plaintiff filed suit after the Plaintiff fell at the Defendant’s store which was located in Montgomery Township. The Defendant filed a Motion to Transfer the case to the Montgomery Court of Common Pleas.

The Plaintiff failed to appear at the argument and the court granted the motion. A Motion for Reconsideration filed by the Plaintiff was denied.

The Plaintiff then filed a Notice to Appeal asserting that the trial court erred when it granted the Defendant’s Motion to Transfer Venue pursuant to the doctrine of forum non conveniens.

The court stated that the record before it revealed that only connection of this case to Philadelphia was that the Defendant, Giant, operated some supermarket stores in Philadelphia.

The Defendant submitted to the court some sworn affidavits from material witnesses confirming the difficulty in time commitment in terms of traveling to Philadelphia for trial.

The court found that the evidence clearly established that the hardship for the moving Defendants was more than a mere inconvenience and that there was no substantial relationship to any activities, events, or transactions in Philadelphia County.

As such, the trial court asked the Superior Court to affirm its Order transferring the case to Montgomery County under the doctrine of forum non conveniens.

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Source: The Legal Intelligencer Common Pleas Case Alert” Law.com (June 12, 2024).