Purdue Pharma L.P. v. State, 2017-IA-00300-SCT
Citation | 256 So.3d 1 |
Decision Date | 18 October 2018 |
Docket Number | NO. 2017-IA-00300-SCT,2017-IA-00300-SCT |
Parties | PURDUE PHARMA L.P., Purdue Pharma, Inc., The Purdue Frederick Company, Inc., Teva Pharmaceuticals, USA, Inc., Cephalon, Inc., Johnson & Johnson, Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Ortho-McNeil-Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc. n/k/a Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Janssen Pharmaceutica, Inc., n/k/a Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Endo Health Solutions Inc., Endo Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Watson Laboratories, Inc. n/k/a Actavis Laboratories Ut, Inc., Actavis LLC and Actavis Pharma, Inc. f/k/a Watson Pharma, Inc. v. STATE of Mississippi |
Court | United States State Supreme Court of Mississippi |
¶ 1. In this interlocutory appeal, the Court must determine whether the location of a foreign corporation's registered agent is relevant when determining the appropriate venue for an action. We find that the adoption of the Registered Agents Act ("RAA") made the location of a corporation's registered agent irrelevant for purposes of venue.
FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY
¶ 4. The State alleged four common-law claims (fraud, negligent misrepresentation, unjust enrichment, and public nuisance), and a claim pursuant to the Mississippi Consumer Protection Act ("MCPA"), Mississippi Code Section 75-24-9. The complaint stated that the Hinds County Chancery Court In addition, the complaint stated that venue was proper pursuant to Mississippi Code Sections 11-11-3, 11-5-1, 75-24-9, and 9-5-81 ; and Article 6, Section 159, of the Mississippi Constitution.2
¶ 5. The parties do not dispute that each defendant's principal place of business was located outside the State of Mississippi. On March 3, 2016, Defendants filed a joint motion to transfer for improper venue and to dismiss the complaint for failure to state a claim. Defendants moved the trial court to transfer the action from the Hinds County Chancery Court to the Rankin County Chancery Court pursuant to Mississippi Rules of Civil Procedure 12(b)(3) and 82(d).3 Attached to the motion was the affidavit of Stephanie M. Rippee, attorney of record for Defendants. Although each of Defendants' principal places of business were located outside the State of Mississippi, Rippee stated that, according to the Mississippi Secretary of State's website, Actavis Pharma had appointed as its registered agent in Mississippi CT Corporation System, which was located at 645 Lakeland East Drive, Suite 101, Flowood, Rankin County. In addition, Cephalon, Inc., had appointed as its registered agent Corporate Creations Network, Inc., located at 232 Market Street, Flowood, Rankin County.4
¶ 6. The State argued in opposition that the Mississippi Legislature passed the RAA to eliminate the relevance of registered agents to the question of venue. The trial court agreed, finding that the passage of the RAA made the location of a foreign corporation's registered agent irrelevant to venue analysis. Accordingly, the trial court held that, because Mississippi's general chancery-court venue statute, Mississippi Code Section 11-5-1, stated that all cases not specifically provided for may be brought in the county in which the defendant may reside or be found, and because no defendant resided or could be found in Mississippi, Section 11-5-1 also was inapplicable to the action.
¶ 7. The trial court continued that Mississippi's general venue statute, Mississippi Code Section 11-11-3, was the only state venue statute that identified criteria other than the location of a registered agent. Pursuant to Section 11-11-3, "a civil action against a nonresident may be commenced in the county where the plaintiff resides or is domiciled." Miss. Code Ann. § 11-11-3 (Rev. 2004). Because the State's Medicaid agency is located in Hinds County along with most state agencies, the trial court found venue to be proper in Hinds County.
¶ 8. Defendants now appeal and argue that the trial court erred in finding that Hinds County was the appropriate venue for this action.
ANALYSIS
¶ 9. Defendants argue that the trial court erred in denying the motion to transfer venue from Hinds County. "The decision to grant or deny a motion for a change of venue lies within the discretion of the trial court and will not be disturbed unless the trial court abuses its discretion." Penn Nat'l Gaming, Inc. v. Ratliff , 954 So.2d 427, 433 (Miss. 2007). "[T]he plaintiff selects among the permissible venues, and his choice must be sustained unless in the end there is no credible evidence supporting the factual basis for the claim of venue." Wilkerson v. Goss , 113 So.3d 544, 548 (Miss. 2013) (quoting Hedgepeth v. Johnson , 975 So.2d 235, 238 (Miss. 2008).
A. Mississippi Consumer Protection Act
¶ 10. Defendants first argue that venue is improper in Hinds County pursuant to the venue statute of the Mississippi Consumer Protection Act ("MCPA"). The MCPA mandates that actions "shall be brought in the chancery or county court of the county in which such person resides or has his principal place of business, or, with consent of the parties, may be brought in the chancery or county court of the county in which the State Capitol is located." Miss. Code Ann. § 75-24-9 (Rev. 2016).
Defendants contend that because no defendant resides or has its principal place of business in Hinds County and because no defendant consented to venue in Hinds County, venue in Hinds County is not proper.
Miss. Code Ann. § 79-35-15 (Rev. 2013).
¶ 12. Defendants argue that the statute's language does not wholly bar consideration of a registered agent's location for venue purposes. Instead, Defendants contend that the location of a registered agent does not, by itself, ultimately determine venue but is still relevant in the venue analysis. Therefore, because each Defendant's principal place of business is outside the state, the location of two Defendants' registered agents is the closest available proxy for residence. Because two Defendants maintain registered agents in Rankin County, Defendants argue that Rankin County is the proper location for the instant action. Defendants also argue that the trial court's interpretation of the RAA incorrectly overruled longstanding precedent holding that foreign corporations are subject to venue where their registered agents are located.
¶ 13. We find that the trial court correctly determined that the RAA effectively made the location of a...
To continue reading
Request your trial-
State v. Yazaki N. Am., Inc.
...an available venue under Section 75-24-9. But this motion was later withdrawn following this Court's decision in Purdue Pharma L.P. v. State , 256 So. 3d 1, 5 (Miss. 2018), which held that, if "MCPA's venue statute provides no choice of venue for foreign corporations," instead of dismissing......
-
Rush v. STIHL, Inc.
...superseded by statute on other grounds, Registered Agents Act, 2012 Miss. Laws Ch. 382, § 15, as recognized in Purdue Pharma L.P. v. State, 256 So. 3d 1, 6 (Miss. 2018)). These are referred to as the Waltman factors. Under this standard, "[p]iercing the corporate veil of a subsidiary to rea......
-
Lancaster v. Miller
...LLC, ... rather than [its members]."10 This decision was later superseded by statute on other grounds, as recognized in Purdue Pharma L.P. v. State , 256 So. 3d 1, 6 (¶16) (Miss. ...
-
Lancaster v. Miller
...than [its members]." 10. This decision was later superseded by statute on other grounds, as recognized in Purdue Pharma L.P. v. State, 256 So. 3d 1, 6 (¶16) (Miss....