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Ex parte Walter Industries6/6/2003
PETITION FOR WRIT OF MANDAMUS
These three mandamus petitions have been consolidated for purposes of writing one opinion. We grant the petitions and issue the writs.
Facts and Procedural History
On September 23, 2001, 13 people died as a result of a mining accident in a mine owned and operated by Jim Walter Resources, Inc. ("JWR"), in Tuscaloosa County. Among those killed were John W. Knox and Gaston Earl Adams, Jr., employees of JWR.
A. Cases no. 1020254 and 1020309
Jacqueline Knox, the widow of John W. Knox, is a resident of Jefferson County and lives in Bessemer. In April 2002, she sued George Richmond, Jesse Cooley, Trent Thrasher, Mark Piper, and Tommy Spencer, co-employees of Knox's (hereinafter referred to collectively as "the co- employee defendants"), and Walter Industries, Inc. ("Walter"), JWR, and Black Warrior Methane Corporation ("BWM") (hereinafter collectively referred to as "the corporate defendants") in the Bessemer Division of the Jefferson Circuit Court. She contended that the co-employee defendants and the corporate defendants were liable under various legal theories for the death of her husband. JWR and BWM both have their principal places of business in Tuscaloosa County, while Walter's principal place of business is in Tampa, Florida. At least two of the co-employee defendants live in Bessemer, another lives in Birmingham, and the remaining two live in Tuscaloosa County. The defendants moved to transfer the case to the Tuscaloosa Circuit Court, arguing that venue in the Bessemer Division of the Jefferson Circuit Court was improper, and alternatively that, if venue was proper there, the case should nonetheless be transferred to the Tuscaloosa Circuit Court pursuant to Ala. Code 1975, ยง 6-3-21.1 (the forum non conveniens statute). The trial court denied the motions. The co-employee defendants, in case no. 1020309, and the corporate defendants, in case no. 1020254, now petition this Court for writs of mandamus directing the trial court to transfer the case to the Tuscaloosa Circuit Court.
B. Case no. 1011467
Sarah June Adams, the widow of Gaston Earl Adams, Jr., is a resident of Jefferson County and lives in Bessemer. In October 2001, she sued Walter and BWM in the Bessemer Division of the Jefferson Circuit Court, alleging that both were liable for the death of her husband. Walter and BWM also moved the trial court to transfer the case to the Tuscaloosa Circuit Court, and the trial court denied the motion. In case no. 1011467, Walter and BWM seek a writ of mandamus directing the trial court to transfer the case to the Tuscaloosa Circuit Court.
Standard of Review
"The question of proper venue for an action is determined at the commencement of the action." Ex parte Pratt, 815 So. 2d 532, 534 (Ala. 2001). "If venue is not proper at the commencement of an action, then, upon motion of the defendant, the action must be transferred to a court where venue would be proper." Ex parte Overstreet, 748 So. 2d 194, 196 (Ala. 1999). "A petition for a writ of mandamus is the appropriate means for challenging a trial court's refusal to transfer an action and such a petition is due to be granted if the petitioner makes a clear showing of error on the part of the trial court." Ex parte Alabama Power Co., 640 So. 2d 921, 922 (Ala. 1994). "In considering a mandamus petition, we must look at only those facts before the trial court." Ex parte American Res. Ins. Co., 663 So. 2d 932, 936 (Ala. 1995).
Analysis
This case turns on the unique legal status of the Bessemer Division of the Jefferson Circuit Court. The Tenth Judicial Circuit, which consists of Jefferson County,
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