Ex parte Alfa Mutual Insurance Company.

Defendant Alfa Mutual Insurance Company sought mandamus relief when the Pickens Circuit Court denied its motion to transfer the underlying lawsuit to the Tuscaloosa Circuit Court. In 2016, Richard Holley, a resident of Pickens County, was involved in a motor-vehicle accident in Tuscaloosa County. The other vehicle was driven by David Evans, who was uninsured. Emergency-medical-services personnel treated Holley at the scene and then transported him to DCH Regional Medical Center in Tuscaloosa. Law-enforcement personnel who were based in Tuscaloosa County also responded to the accident. After the accident, Holley received follow-up treatment from three medical providers in Tuscaloosa and one medical provider in Mississippi. The Alabama Supreme Court concluded the trial court exceeded its discretion in denying Alfa's motion for a change of venue based on the interest-of-justice prong of the forum non conveniens statute. Accordingly, the Court granted Alfa's petition for the writ of mandamus and direct the trial court, in the interest of justice, to vacate its order denying the motion to transfer the action to the Tuscaloosa Circuit Court and to enter an order transferring the case from the Pickens Circuit Court to the Tuscaloosa Circuit Court. View "Ex parte Alfa Mutual Insurance Company." on Justia Law