HARRISBURG - The Superior Court of Pennsylvania affirmed a lower court’s decision to transfer the venue of a personal injury lawsuit against Parx Casino to Bucks County from Philadelphia County in a May 17 memorandum.
The case was heard by Superior Court judges Anne Lazarus, Jacqueline Shogan and Alice Beck Dubow.
“We agree with the trial court’s decision to transfer venue to Bucks County,” Lazarus said in the ruling. “The court did not abuse its discretion in granting Parx’s preliminary objections on the basis of venue.”
Judge Anne Lazarus
| PA Courts
Curtis Anthony filed a lawsuit against Parx Casino, Park Casino Design Inc., Greenwood Gaming and Entertainment Inc., Greenwood Racing Inc., Philadelphia Park Casino and Philadelphia Park Casino and Racetrack on June 14, 2017 in the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia. Parx, the largest casino gaming complex in Pennsylvania, is located in Bucks County. Greenwood Gaming and Entertainment owns and operates the complex.
According to the lawsuit, Anthony sustained serious injuries while visiting the casino in October 2015. He claims the defendants caused him “to trip, slip, stumble and/or fall by reason of a broken and defective walkway and curb” that Parx allegedly failed to inspect, maintain and repair. Parx subsequently filed preliminary objections to Anthony's complaint.
The court later entered an order sustaining Parx’s objections and ordered that the case be transferred at Anthony’s cost to the Court of Common Pleas of Bucks County. Anthony appealed the court’s decision, arguing that the “venue properly lies in Philadelphia” based on the business contacts of Parx’s sister corporations. The Superior Court disagreed.
“A corporation is not subject to venue based solely upon the business activities of a sister corporation in the jurisdiction in question,” Lazarus said in the memorandum. “It is undisputed that Anthony’s alleged accident occurred at a Bucks County casino that is operated by a corporation that only does business in Bucks County.”