In Kahn v. Enterprise Rent-A-Car Co., No. 1-03-3694 (1st Dist. December 30, 2004), the court ruled that the trial court in a personal injury case should have granted the defendants' motion to transfer venue from Cook County to DuPage County on the basis of forum non conveniens.
Some of the pertinent facts, according to the court:
[T]he accident took place in Villa Park, which is located in DuPage County; all of the nine potential witnesses to the accident were residents of DuPage County; plaintiffs and Muhammed were residents of DuPage County; the Villa Park police department personnel were at the scene of the accident following the collision.
The plaintiffs argued, in part, that some of the decedent's medical treatment took place in Cook County, and that "Enterprise maintains numerous business outlets and files lawsuits on a regular basis in Cook County."
Final result: the case was transferred to DuPage County. The court dismissed plaintiffs' argument about Enterprise's business in Cook County because "the Dawdy Court expressly rejected the contention that a corporate defendant doing business in the chosen forum affects the forum non conveniens issue."
Initially, the appellate court had denied defendant's leave to appeal, but changed its mind "[i]n accordance with a supervisory order from the Illinois Supreme Court to consider defendants' petition."
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