Alabama Workers' Comp Blawg

Racing to the Courthouse still a Consideration in Alabama Workers Compensation Cases

With Tennessee implementing its new administrative system this week, Alabama is now one of the only states left to use state courts to adjudicate its workers’ compensation cases. For that reason, if more than one venue is proper, it is still possible to gain a strategic advantage in Alabama by filing the lawsuit first.

Case in point, the Alabama Court of Civil Appeals released its opinion in Ex parte Blair Logistics, LLC on June 27, 2014. In Blair, the Court considered a situation where the plaintiff filed a complaint for workers’ compensation benefits in Jefferson County. A little over 7 months later, the employer filed a motion to have the venue transferred to Chilton County. The employer claimed that it was entitled to the transfer based on the doctrine of forum non conveniens which allows for such transfers for the convenience of the parties and witnesses or if it betters serves the interests of justice.

In support of its motion, the employer pointed out that the plaintiff was living in Chilton County at the time of the accident and at the time the complaint was filed. It also noted that the plaintiff received some medical treatment in Chilton County including the initial treatment following the accident. Finally, the employer stated that the accident occurred at the plaintiff’s home in Chilton County and that it intended to call as witnesses certain Chilton County residents such as the plaintiff’s wife and some medical service providers.

The plaintiff supported his objection to the motion by noting that the employer’s principal place of business was in Jefferson County and that the depositions of the employer representatives and the plaintiff had already taken place in Jefferson County. Further, the plaintiff pointed out that all of the relevant medical treatment had occurred in Jefferson County. Finally, the evidence revealed that there existed an employment contract that provided that all disputes be resolved in Jefferson County.

Based on the above facts, the trial court denied the employer’s motion and the employer filed a petition for a writ of mandamus. Such a petition is an extraordinary remedy and will only be granted if the trial court clearly abused its discretion.

The Court of Appeals noted that it was conceded by the parties that both venues were proper. It further noted that the employer had the burden of proving that the inconvenience and expense of defending the action in Jefferson County was so great that the plaintiff’s right to choose the venue should be overcome. In other words, the employer had to prove that Chilton County was significantly more convenient than Jefferson County. 

With facts obviously supporting the convenience of the parties and the interests of justice for both counties, it could not be said that the trial court abused its discretion in denying the motion. As such, the employer’s petition was denied.

MY TWO CENTS:

When you have multiple proper venues, it is a good idea to look at the pros and cons of each venue early on. The Alabama Workers’ Compensation Act provides that either party can file the lawsuit. Since the party seeking a venue transfer has the burden of proving that another venue is significantly more convenient, it is better to be the party that initially filed the lawsuit. In the above case, had the employer filed in Chilton County, the plaintiff (or in that case, the defendant) would not likely have been successful in having the case transferred to Jefferson County. In fact, in either scenario, had the trial court granted the motion to transfer venue, the Court of Civil Appeals would likely have granted a petition for writ of mandamus and ordered the trial court to reverse its decision since, at least based on the above facts, it is unlikely that either party could have satisfied its burden of proof.  

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About the Author

This article was written by Michael I. Fish, Esq. of Fish Nelson & Holden LLC, a law firm dedicated to representing employers, self-insured employers and insurance carriers in workers’ compensation matters. Fish Nelson is a member of The National Workers’ Compensation Network (NWCDN). If you have any questions about this article or Alabama workers’ compensation issues in general, please feel free to contact the author at mfish@fishnelson.com or any firm member at 205-332-1448.