ATRA URGES SOUTH CAROLINA HIGH COURT TO STEM FORUM SHOPPING

Washington, DC, August 24, 2004 -- The American Tort Reform Association (ATRA), joined by the South Carolina Chamber of Commerce, has filed an amicus curiae brief urging the Supreme Court of South Carolina to stem forum shopping in the state. ATRA filed its brief on August 19 in the case of Whaley v. CSX Transportation, Inc. (Case No. 01-CP-25-127).

“This case provides a vivid illustration of how personal injury lawyers have taken advantage of an overbroad and obsolete interpretation of South Carolina’s venue law to pick and choose the most plaintiff friendly court in the state, even when the facts of the case have no connection to that county,” said ATRA President Sherman Joyce. Joyce noted that in this instance, “the case was ‘forum shopped’ to Hampton County, a county that ATRA has awarded a ‘dishonorable mention’ in its ‘Judicial Hellholes’™ report for two years running, particularly because of the county’s willingness to accept cases from around the state and to provide generous awards.”

The case involves a plaintiff who is a resident of Abbeville County, where his family has lived for nearly 250 years. As a locomotive engineer, he regularly worked on a sixty-mile, round-trip route between Greenwood and Laurens Counties. It was on this route that Mr. Whaley was allegedly injured through exposure to excessive heat. His employer maintains an office and agent in Greenwood County, where the courthouse is just thirteen miles away from the plaintiff’s home. Each and every witness for both parties lived in Abbeville, Greenwood, or Laurens County, yet Mr. Whaley’s lawyer filed a complaint in Hampton County—six counties or 145 miles away. The almost predictable result was a verdict for an extraordinary $1 million in compensatory damages, which the trial court refused to reduce.

At issue is the definition of where a defendant “resides” for the purpose of where a lawsuit can be properly filed (venue) in South Carolina. The trial court relied upon a case applying the language of a now-repealed statute to allow lawsuits to be filed against corporate defendants anywhere they “own property and transact business.” In its brief, ATRA urges the Court to find that a defendant resides where it has an office and agent for the transaction of corporate business, a test supported by longstanding South Carolina law. ATRA’s brief also urges the state high court to reaffirm a trial court’s traditional discretion to transfer a case when it serves the convenience of witnesses and the interests of justice. “This case provides the court with an opportunity to restore fairness and stem forum shopping in South Carolina courts,” said Joyce. “We hope it uses the occasion to do so.”

The Supreme Court of South Carolina is expected to hear oral argument in the case when it reconvenes in October 2004.

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The American Tort Reform Association (ATRA) is the only national organization dedicated exclusively to tort and liability reform through public education and the enactment of legislation. ATRA's membership includes non profits, small and large companies, as well as state and national trade, business, and professional associations.