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Illinois Centeral Railroad Company v. Travis2/28/2002
DATE OF JUDGMENT: 05/31/2000
TRIAL JUDGE: HON. R. KENNETH COLEMAN COURT FROM WHICH APPEALED: MARSHALL COUNTY CIRCUIT COURT
NATURE OF THE CASE: CIVIL - PERSONAL INJURY
DISPOSITION: AFFIRMED AND REMANDED-02/28/2002
. Mary Frances Travis (Administratrix of the Estate of Clifton Davis Travis, Jr., deceased), joined ninety-eight others in filing suit against Illinois Central Railroad Company (ICRR) in Marshall County, Mississippi, for alleged exposure to asbestos and products containing asbestos. ICRR moved to dismiss Travis's claims based on improper venue, improper joinder, and forum non conveniens. The circuit court denied this motion. This Court subsequently granted ICRR's request for permission to appeal. See, M.R.A.P. 5. Finding no error by the trial court, we affirm.
FACTS
. This is a case filed under the Federal Employers' Liability Act, 45 U.S.C. ยงยง 51 et seq. ("FELA"), alleging injuries and death due to exposure to asbestos. Mary Frances Travis is the administratrix of the estate of her late husband, Clifton Davis Travis. Travis worked for Illinois Central Railroad Company ("ICRR") from 1949 to 1990. Mr. Travis worked for ICRR as a stationary fireman, a machinist's helper, a carman helper, a carman, and a mechanical foreman. He was diagnosed with asbestosis on February 21, 1998. He developed lung cancer and died on July 21, 1998.
. On October 9, 1998, Mrs. Travis joined 71 other former ICRR employees and filed a complaint under the FELA in the Circuit Court of Marshall County, Mississippi. Twenty-seven additional plaintiffs were later joined by amendment. Mrs. Travis's case, along with nine other cases, was set for trial to begin July 24, 2000. Mr. Travis was a resident of Tennessee. His wife is still a resident of Tennessee. He worked for ICRR in Kentucky and Tennessee. Plaintiffs claim there is a possibility that he did some work in Mississippi; although, defendants state that he never worked in Mississippi.
STANDARD OF REVIEW
. There are essentially two standards that are to be dealt with in reviewing the case at bar. First, as to the question of forum non conveniens, this Court will uphold the trial court's ruling unless it is clearly erroneous. "When considering a motion to dismiss, the allegations in the complaint must be taken as true, and the motion should not be granted unless it appears beyond doubt that the plaintiff will be unable to prove any set of facts in support of his claim." Donald v. Amoco Prod. Co., 735 So. 2d 161, 165-66 (Miss. 1999) (citing Butler v. Board of Supervisors, 659 So.2d 578, 581 (Miss.1995); Overstreet v. Merlos, 570 So.2d 1196, 1197 (Miss.1990)). "A circuit court judge sitting without a jury is accorded the same deference with regard to his findings as a chancellor," and his findings are safe on appeal where they are supported by substantial, credible, and reasonable evidence. See City of Jackson v. Perry, 764 So.2d 373, 376 (Miss.2000); Puckett v. Stuckey, 633 So.2d 978, 982 (Miss.1993); Sweet Home Water & Sewer Ass'n v. Lexington Estates, Ltd., 613 So.2d 864, 872 (Miss.1993); Allied Steel Corp. v. Cooper, 607 So.2d 113, 119 (Miss.1992). "This Court will not disturb those findings unless they are manifestly wrong, clearly erroneous or an erroneous legal standard was applied." Bell v. City of Bay St. Louis, 467 So.2d 657, 661 (Miss.1985).
. Second, as to the issues of improper venue and improper joinder, this Court uses a more deferential standard. The official comment to Rule 20 describes its purpose as:
The general philosophy of the joinder provisions of these Rules is to allow virtually unlimited joinder at the p
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