The First District Appellate Court recently ruled in favor of a defendant transportation company, allowing the company to transfer its case on forum non conveniens grounds from Cook County to Kane County, where an accident involving one of the company’s trucks and its driver occurred. It is rare that a trial court’s ruling on a motion to transfer gets reversed on forum non conveniens grounds. After the circuit court refused to transfer the case to Kane County, the Appellate Court initially refused to hear the case. However, Johnson & Bell appealed to the Illinois Supreme Court on behalf of its transportation company client, and the Illinois Supreme Court issued a Supervisory Order directing the Appellate Court to hear the case and get to the merits. In the underlying case, the transportation company is defending itself in a lawsuit alleging wrongful death in a trucking accident that occurred in Kane County. Because Plaintiff filed suit in Cook County rather than Kane County, Johnson & Bell and its client sought a change of venue on forum non conveniens grounds. On appeal, Johnson & Bell argued that the plaintiff did not reside in Cook County, the accident occurred in Kane County and the other relevant private and public interest factors favored a transfer of the suit to Kane County. The Appellate Court agreed and ruled in favor of Johnson & Bell’s client. Johnson & Bell Shareholders, Gregory D. Conforti and Julie J. Busch, represent the transportation company in the underlying matter. Johnson & Bell Shareholder, Garrett L. Boehm, Jr., represented the transportation company during the appeal process.
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