The Texas Supreme Court has granted oral argument in a petition for writ of mandamus stemming from a personal-injury lawsuit involving a truck-train collision in Louisiana. The court has not yet set the date of the argument.
In re Pinnergy, Ltd. (No. 23-0777; oral argument granted May 31, 2024) arose from a Harris County lawsuit brought by an engineer for Union Pacific for injuries allegedly sustained in a collision between a locomotove and an 18-wheeler. Plaintiff sued Union Pacific, Pinnergy (the owner of the truck), and the truck driver. The collision occurred in Louisiana. Later, another UP employee, who alleged that he was working as a conductor on the locomotive, intervened, likewise alleging injuries from the collision. Pinnergy and its employee-driver moved to dismiss the case on forum non conveniensgrounds. UP joined the motion, and Defendants filed a Notice of Submission setting their motions to dismiss on the trial court’s submission docket. Plaintiffs failed to file a response prior to the submission date, and the trial court granted the motions to dismiss. Plaintiff engineer filed a motion to reconsider, which the trial court granted. Plaintiff subsequently filed a response and withdrew its ruling on the motion to dismiss. A few days later, the trial court denied the motions. Defendants sought mandamus relief.
In a per curiam opinion, the court of appeals denied relief without substantive explanation. Defendants filed a petition for writ of mandamus with SCOTX. The issue is whether the trial court properly denied Defendants’ motion to dismiss on forum non conveniens grounds although, they argue: (1) the accident occurred in Louisiana; (2) no party, fact, or witness has a connection to Harris County; (3) the first suit stemming from the accident was filed in Louisiana; (4) all witnesses, including experts, are located in Louisiana; and (5) if the trial is held in Harris County, Defendants will not be able to subpoena key witnesses.
This case presents pretty much the classic common law forum non conveniens scenario. We will of course follow SCOTX’s consideration with great interest.
