Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Florida Family Law Procedure
Can a Florida family law case be transferred from one county to another? This is a common question when, for example, one parent in a child custody case lives in one county, and the other lives in another county. It may be inconvenient for a parent to have to litigate the case in a county that is very far away from where he or she lives. Whether or not a case can be transferred depends on factors that have to be analyzed by the court as explained in At Home Auto Glass v. Mendota Ins. Co., 5D21-2052 (Fla. 5th DCA August 12, 2022).
This case involved an insurance company and a glass company for breach of contract on an insurance claim. The glass company filed suit against the insurer in Seminole County. The insurer moved to transfer venue to Alachua County, asserting it was more convenient. for the case to be heard there because a key witness, the insured, lived there, and it was the county in which the services were provided by the glass company that formed the basis for the insurance claim. The motion was granted and the glass company appealed.
The appellate court first noted “Under section 47.122, Florida Statutes, a plaintiff’s forum selection is presumptively correct. Eggers v. Eggers, 776 So. 2d 1096, 1098 (Fla. 5th DCA 2001). Resultingly, a party, such as Insurer, seeking to transfer venue has the burden of proof to establish the basis under this statute for the transfer. See Vero v. Vero, 659 So. 2d 1348, 1349 (Fla. 5th DCA 1995). To that end, our court has made clear that ‘[w]hen a forum non conveniens challenge is raised, it is incumbent upon the parties to submit affidavits or other evidence that will shed necessary light on the issue of the convenience of the parties and witnesses and the interest of justice.’ Hall v. Animals.com, L.L.C., 171 So. 3d 216, 218 (Fla. 5th DCA 2015).”
The court reversed the order, holding “Insurer’s motion to transfer was unsworn; it presented no evidence by way of affidavits, depositions, or live testimony at the hearing, nor did it file any pre-hearing affidavits or sworn evidence in support of its motion. In contrast, Glass Company filed an affidavit in opposition to the motion to transfer venue from its managing partner. The affiant averred that the disputed issue between the parties pertained to the general pricing charged by Glass Company for auto glass replacement services compared to the amount that Insurer would pay for such service. The affiant explained that Glass Company would not be relying on layperson testimony and that its corporate representative witnesses and possible expert witnesses would not be inconvenienced by the litigation remaining in Seminole County.
The court concluded “Here, the primary reason given by the trial court in its written order was that the venue transfer was necessary to avoid burdening a Seminole County jury with a case lacking connection to the county. Glass Company made no demand for a jury trial in its small claims suit; thus, this basis for the ruling lacked record support. Further, Insurer failed to separately meet its burden, either by affidavit or other competent record evidence, to show how the interest of justice would otherwise be served by a venue transfer.”
Similar issues arise in Florida family law cases. For this reason, it may be important to consult with a Miami family law attorney about your case.