Flanagan v. Department of Health & Rehabilitative Services

Florida District Courts of Appeal
Flanagan v. Department of Health & Rehabilitative Services, 314 So. 2d 235 (1975)
1975 Fla. App. LEXIS 13734
Mager, Owen, Walden

Flanagan v. Department of Health & Rehabilitative Services

Opinion of the Court

PER CURIAM.

Appellants, plaintiffs below, sued appel-lees, defendants below, in Broward County, Florida. Appellees moved to transfer venue to Leon County, Florida. The court granted the change of venue and it is this order that appellants are interlocutorily appealing.

We hold that the court was correct in granting the change of venue. The defendants included governmental agencies. Generally, governmental agencies have a right to be sued in the county in which the agency is located. Ringling Bros.—Barnum & Bailey Combined Shows, Inc. v. State, 295 So.2d 314 (1st DCA Fla. 1974). A suit involving a governmental' agency should be brought in the county in which the agency has its principal office even though there are other defendants with their residence or principal office in a different county. Fla.Stat. § 47.021 (1973); Amelia Island Mosquito Control District v. Tyson, 150 So.2d 246 (1st DCA Fla. 1963).

Therefore, we affirm the trial court’s order as the defendants which are governmental agencies did not waive their privilege to be sued in the county of their *236principal office, Leon County, nor did the plaintiff allege facts sufficient to bring them within an exception to the general rule.

Affirmed.

OWEN, C. J., and WALDEN and MAGER, JJ., concur.

Reference

Full Case Name
Charles W. FLANAGAN v. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND REHABILITATIVE SERVICES
Cited By
3 cases
Status
Published