Ex Parte Onyx Waste Services of Florida
Ex Parte Onyx Waste Services of Florida
Opinion
Deon Henley sued Onyx Waste Services of Florida doing business as Onyx Waste Services Southeast, Inc. ("Onyx"), alleging an on-the-job injury and seeking workers' compensation benefits. Onyx filed a motion in the trial court to dismiss or, in the alternative, to transfer the action from Tuscaloosa County to Chilton County. That motion was denied by the trial court on October 26, 2006. Onyx then moved the trial court to reconsider that order; the trial court denied Onyx's motion to reconsider on January 12, 2007. Onyx petitioned our Supreme Court for a writ of mandamus on February 21, 2007. Our Supreme Court then transferred the petition to this court. We dismiss the petition.
Although neither party challenges this court's appellate jurisdiction, or addresses in detail the timeliness of Onyx's petition for a writ of mandamus, we must consider ex mero motu whether this court has jurisdiction over the petition.Goodyear Tire Rubber Co. v. Moore,
The dispositive jurisdictional question we must address is whether Onyx's petition for a writ of mandamus was timely filed. Importantly, unlike a postjudgment motion following a final judgment, a motion to reconsider an interlocutory order does not toll the presumptively reasonable time period that a party has to petition an appellate court for a writ of mandamus. Rule 21(a)(3), Ala. R.App. P., and Ex parteTroutman Sanders, LLP,
In the present case the petition for a writ of mandamus was filed 40 days after the denial of Onyx's motion to reconsider, and 118 days after the trial court first denied Onyx's motion to dismiss or, alternatively, to transfer the action to Chilton County.
Onyx claims in its petition to this court that the trial court granted in part its motion to reconsider because the trial court agreed with Onyx that venue in Tuscaloosa County would not be proper under §
Additionally, we note that this case is distinguishable from a situation in which a trial court withdraws its previous order because it was issued "by mistake" and then enters a new order providing the same relief as the first order. See Ex parteInternational Refining Manufacturing Co. d/b/aIRMCO,
When a petition for a writ of mandamus has not been filed within a presumptively reasonable time, the petition "shall include a statement of circumstances constituting good cause for the appellate court to consider the petition, notwithstanding that it was filed beyond the presumptively reasonable time." Rule 21(a)(3), Ala. R.App. P. "The filing of such a statement in support of an untimely petition for a writ of mandamus is mandatory." Ex parte Fiber Transp.L.L.C.,
PETITION DISMISSED.
THOMPSON, P.J., and PITTMAN, BRYAN, and MOORE, JJ., concur.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Ex Parte Onyx Waste Services of Florida D/B/A Onyx Waste Services Southeast, Inc. (In Re Deon Henley v. Onyx Waste Services of Florida D/B/A Onyx Waste Services Southeast, Inc.).
- Cited By
- 19 cases
- Status
- Published