Client Advisory

In Tranter v. Z&D Tour, Inc., the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania reversed the ruling of the Superior Court of Pennsylvania and held that a case was properly transferred from the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas to the Westmoreland County on the basis of forum non conveniens. The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania held that transfer out of Philadelphia was appropriate, where the accident in question occurred 200 miles from Philadelphia and dozens of witnesses would be inconvenienced by travel to Philadelphia for trial.

This case arose from a multi-vehicle accident in Westmoreland County, in western Pennsylvania. The accident resulted in multiple emergency personnel responding to the accident from Westmoreland County as well as accident investigations by individuals residing in or around Westmoreland County. Yet, the plaintiffs filed their complaint in Philadelphia County on the eastern border of the state. The defense filed petitions to transfer the case to Westmoreland County, which was granted by the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County. The trial court relied on the number of potential witnesses who would be forced to travel a significant distance to litigate the case.

The Superior Court reversed the trial court’s decision on the basis that the defendants had not identified individuals who were “key witnesses” who would provide “relevant and necessary” testimony that would be “critical to their defenses.” In reversing this decision and upholding the transfer of the case to Westmoreland County, the Supreme Court explained that the” key witness” standard articulated by the Superior Court was beyond the legal standard established for forum non conveniens motions.

The Supreme Court also explained that the heightened evidentiary requirement set forth by superior court was improper. Specifically, it noted that while such motions must be supported by detailed information on the record, no particular form of proof is required, including witness affidavits. It noted that specific evidentiary requirements would be impractical since these motions must be filed early in the case pre-discovery.

Key takeaway: Defendants should develop a record on forum non conveniens issues early, identifying potential fact witnesses, including non-parties that would be inconvenienced by the plaintiff’s choice of venue. In developing this record witness affidavits and other formal evidentiary proofs are not necessary but would be helpful to support the motion. It is not necessary that these witnesses are key or primary to the case