Ex parte Kia Motors America, Inc.

• Decision Date: 09 May 2003
• Citation: 881 So.2d 396
• Parties: Ex parte KIA MOTORS AMERICA, INC., et al. (In re Patricia Foxworth, as administratrix of the estate of Christopher Allen Durden, deceased v. Kia Motors America, Inc., et al. Debra Woodward, as administratrix of the estate of Justin Valieres, deceased v. Kia Motors America, Inc., et al. Howard Jeffreys, as administrator of the estate of Marilyn Elise Jeffreys, deceased v. Kia Motors America, Inc., et al.)
• Court: Alabama Supreme Court

881 So.2d 396

Ex parte KIA MOTORS AMERICA, INC., et al.

(In re Patricia Foxworth, as administratrix of the estate of Christopher Allen Durden, deceased v. Kia Motors America, Inc., et al.

Debra Woodward, as administratrix of the estate of Justin Valieres, deceased v. Kia Motors America, Inc., et al.

Howard Jeffreys, as administrator of the estate of Marilyn Elise Jeffreys, deceased v. Kia Motors America, Inc., et al.)

1011037.

Supreme Court of Alabama.

May 9, 2003.

As Modified on Denial of Rehearing November 21, 2003.

De Martenson and Christopher S. Rodgers of Huie, Fernambucq & Stewart, LLP, Birmingham, for petitioners Kia Motors America, Inc., and Kia Motors Corp.

Ron Storey, Dothan, for petitioner Emerald Auto Sales, Inc.

J. Cole Portis and Benjamin E. Baker, Jr., of Beasley, Allen, Crow, Methvin, Portis & Miles, P.C., Montgomery; and Herman Cobb and S. Steadman Shealy, Jr., of Cobb, Shealy & Crum, Dothan, for respondents.

PER CURIAM.

Kia Motors America, Inc., headquartered in California; Kia Motors Corporation, headquartered in Korea (Kia Motors America, Inc., and Kia Motors Corporation are hereinafter collectively referred to as "Kia"); and Emerald Auto Sales, Inc. ("Emerald"), located in Houston County, Alabama, petition this Court for a writ of mandamus directing the Houston Circuit Court to grant their motions to dismiss these cases based on the doctrine of forum non conveniens. See Ala.Code 1975, § 6-5-430. We grant their petition.

Facts and Procedural History

On October 16, 1999, Marilyn Elise Jeffreys, her daughter Danielle Jeffreys, Justin Valieres, and Christopher Allen Durden were in a 1998 Kia Sephia automobile¹ when they were involved in a high-speed crash with another vehicle in Jackson County, Florida.² The force of the crash caused the Sephia to leave the roadway; it came to rest in a pasture, where it caught fire and burned. The only occupant to survive the accident was Danielle Jeffreys.

On September 7, 2001, Howard Jeffreys, as the administrator of the estate of Marilyn Elise Jeffreys; Patricia Foxworth, as the administratrix of the estate of Christopher Allen Durden; and Debra Woodward, as the administratrix of the estate of Justin Valieres (Howard Jeffreys, Foxworth, and Woodward are hereinafter collectively referred to as "the respondents"), sued Kia and Emerald in the Houston Circuit Court on theories of product liability, breach of warranty, and negligence and wantonness as to Kia, and product liability and breach of warranty as to Emerald.

On October 11, 2001, Kia filed a motion to dismiss the Alabama actions on the ground of forum non conveniens, pursuant to Ala.Code 1975, § 6-5-430; it requested the trial court to dismiss the actions and allow them to be filed in Jackson County, Florida.³ Subsequently, Kia filed an evidentiary submission in support of its motion to dismiss, presenting the affidavits of 25 witnesses who are residents of Florida and who stated that it would be more convenient if the actions were brought in Jackson County, Florida, where the crash occurred. From the facts before us, it appears that the accident site, the decedents, the plaintiffs, nonparty witnesses, rescue personnel and medical examiners who might testify, and documents related to this accident are located in Florida. The wrecked vehicle is currently being stored in Birmingham.

On October 29, 2001, the respondents' counsel filed a motion to consolidate the three actions; that motion was granted. On November 13, 2001, Emerald filed its motion to dismiss the Alabama actions on the basis of forum non conveniens, adopting and incorporating all of the arguments previously made by Kia in its motion to dismiss.

The motions to dismiss were originally set for hearing in November 2001, but were subsequently continued to January 3, 2002, and again to February 6, 2002. On January 15, 2002, Kia and Emerald were notified that the trial court had denied their motions to dismiss without a hearing and without any responsive filing from the respondents.⁴ The trial court's order stated: "The Court has reconsidered the motion for change of venue and finds that the Houston County Circuit Court will be more convenient to the parties. The Court also finds that [Emerald] is a resident of Houston County." Kia and Emerald then filed this petition.

Standard of Review

Our standard of review in mandamus cases is well settled:

"Mandamus is a drastic and extraordinary writ, to be issued only where there is (1) a clear legal right in the petitioner to the order sought, (2) an imperative duty upon the respondent to perform, accompanied by a refusal to do so, (3) the lack of another adequate remedy, and (4) properly invoked jurisdiction of the court. Ex parte Integon Corp., 672 So.2d 497, 499 (Ala.1995). `A petition for the writ of mandamus is a proper method for presenting a venue challenge based on the doctrine of forum non conveniens.' Id. (citations omitted). We apply the abuse-of-discretion standard when considering a mandamus petition challenging a venue ruling, and we will not issue the writ unless the trial court exercised its discretion in an arbitrary and capricious manner. Id."

Ex parte Brookwood Health Servs., Inc., 781 So.2d 954, 956-57 (Ala.2000). Furthermore, our review is limited to those facts that were before the trial court. Ex parte Jim Burke Auto., Inc., 776 So.2d 118, 120 (Ala.2000).

Analysis

Kia and Emerald allege that in denying their motions to dismiss on the basis of forum non conveniens the trial court exceeded its discretion. Specifically, they argue that because the decedents were, and the plaintiffs are, residents of Florida and because the accident occurred in Florida and the majority of witnesses and accident-related documents are located in Florida, in the interests of justice the trial court should dismiss these actions so that they may be brought in Jackson County, Florida. We agree.

Alabama's forum non conveniens statute, Ala.Code 1975, § 6-5-430, provides:

"Whenever, either by common law or the statutes of another state or of the United States, a claim, either upon contract or in tort[,] has arisen outside this state against any person or corporation, such claim may be enforceable in the courts of this state in any county in which jurisdiction of the defendant can be legally obtained in the same manner in which jurisdiction could have been obtained if the claim had arisen in this state; provided, however, the courts of this state shall apply the doctrine of forum non conveniens in determining whether to accept or decline to take jurisdiction of an action based upon such claim originating outside this state; and provided further that, if upon motion of any defendant it is shown that there exists a more appropriate forum outside this state, taking into account the location where the acts giving rise to the action occurred, the convenience of the parties and witnesses, and the interests of justice, the court must dismiss the action without prejudice. Such dismissal may be conditioned upon the defendant or defendants filing with the court a consent (i) to submit to jurisdiction in the identified forum, or (ii) to waive any defense based upon a statute of limitations if an action on the same cause of action is commenced in the identified forum within 60 days of the dismissal."

The doctrine of forum non conveniens requires a court to determine whether to accept or to decline jurisdiction of claims arising outside the state. Ex parte Integon Corp., 672 So.2d 497 (Ala.1995). "Initially, the party seeking dismissal must show that the claim[s] arose outside Alabama. Next, that party must show that an alternative forum exists." 672 So.2d at 499; Ex parte Preston Hood Chevrolet, Inc., 638 So.2d 842, 845 (Ala.1994); Ex parte Employers Ins. of Wausau, 590 So.2d 888, 893 (Ala.1991); Jerome A. Hoffman & Sandra C. Guin, Alabama Civil Procedure § 2.148 (2d ed. 2000) ("A party seeking dismissal under § 6-5-430 must establish that the claim to be dismissed arose elsewhere than in Alabama." (footnote omitted)).

Thus, the trial court is compelled to dismiss an action without prejudice if, upon a defendant's motion, it is shown that there exists a more appropriate forum outside the state, taking into account the location where the acts giving rise to the action occurred, the convenience of the parties and witnesses, and the interest of justice. Ex parte Prudential Ins. Co. of America, 721 So.2d 1135, 1138 (Ala.1998). In addition, in determining whether a dismissal of the action on the ground of forum non conveniens should be granted, the trial court should consider "the relative ease of access to sources of proof, the location of the evidence, the availability of compulsory process for the attendance of unwilling witnesses, the cost of obtaining the attendance of willing witnesses, the possibility of a view of the premises, if a view would be appropriate to the action, and any other matter in order to assess the degree of actual difficulty and hardship that would result to the defendant in litigating the case in the forum chosen by the plaintiff." Ex parte Ben-Acadia, Ltd., 566 So.2d 486, 488 (Ala.1990). If, after weighing all of the factors, the judge finds that the balance is "strongly in favor of the defendant," he or she may decline to exercise jurisdiction and dismiss the complaint. Id.

In the instant case, for the doctrine of forum non conveniens to be applicable, the claims must have arisen outside Alabama. The respondents' complaints allege product-liability and breach-of-warranty claims against both Kia and Emerald. Additionally, the respondents allege that Kia was negligent or wanton in its design and manufacture of the Sephia. It is undisputed that the product-liability and negligence claims against Kia arose in Florida. ⁵ However, the parties disagree as to where the breach-of-warranty claim against Emerald arose.⁶ The respondents, in their brief, state,

"In this case, Florida's

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