Taylor ex rel. Taylor v. Dasilva
Taylor ex rel. Taylor v. Dasilva
Opinion of the Court
Plaintiffs-appellants, Ken A. Taylor, a minor, and his father Leo A. Taylor, appeal from a court order granting defendants-ap-pellees’ motion for a change of venue and transferring the action from Dade County to Osceola County.
Appellants originally sued Fay Lee Tong, Norman J. Dasilva, State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company, and Fireman’s Fund Insurance Company in Dade County Florida alleging serious and permanent injury to Ken Taylor caused when motor vehicles operated by Tong and Dasil-va each struck the vehicle in which Ken Taylor was riding. The accident occurred in Osceola County. Ken, who was severely burned, was taken to a hospital in Orlando County and within twenty-four hours transferred to Jackson Memorial Hospital in Dade County.
Under Section 47.122, Florida Statutes (1979),
In their motion for change of venue, ap-pellees state:
1. The subject action should be abated or transferred to the Circuit Court located in Osceola County, Florida for the reason that venue is improper in Dade County or the present forum is inconvenient.
2. The Defendant TONG is a resident of Osceola County; the accident happened in Osceola County, the Defendant, DA-SILVA, is a resident of New Jersey; and, witnesses are located in Osceola County.
3. Plaintiffs are not residents of the State of Florida and the only connection between the subject action and Dade County, Florida is Plaintiffs’ attorney.
Appellees filed no affidavit or memorandum in support of these statements. Appellants, on the other hand, filed affidavits and a memorandum challenging the factual basis of the motion for change of venue on the grounds that no defendant is a resident of Florida,
Although a grant or refusal of application for change of venue is generally within the sound discretion of the trial court, the discretion of the court is not unbridled and must be predicated upon a proper showing of convenience or interests of justice. Ashland Oil, Inc., supra at 569. On this record, however, it is clear that appellees have not met the required burden of showing that the forum selected by the plaintiffs will result in substantial inconvenience, undue expense or the likelihood of injustice.
Reversed and remanded for proceedings consistent with this opinion.
. We have jurisdiction pursuant to Florida Rules of Appellate Procedure 9.130(a)(3)(A).
. Section 47.011, Florida Statutes (1979), providing that an action may be brought in the county where the action accrued, does not apply here because both parties are non-residents and is properly not relied upon on appeal.
.Defendant Tong had apparently settled and was no longer a defendant at this point.
Dissenting Opinion
dissenting.
I respectfully dissent, and would affirm. See: Pearson v. Wallace, 400 So.2d 50 (Fla. 5th DCA 1981).
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.