PHILADELPHIA - A slip-and-fall plaintiff has been denied in his attempt to have his lawsuit moved from Delaware County to Philadelphia.
The state Superior Court on Feb. 14 rejected the arguments of Alexander Malofiy, who had rented an accounting office in Media (Delaware County) that is owned by Media Real Estate Co. He claims he sustained injuries after he slipped on black ice while exiting one of the company’s properties on March 9, 2015.
Malofiy filed a complaint on July 10, 2017. Paragraph 50 of the complaint stated that “[v]enue is proper in the Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas under Pennsylvania Rules of Civil Procedure 2130, 2179, and 1006 inasmuch, on information and belief, [Appellee] is an entity that regularly conducts business in Philadelphia.”
The appellee, Media Real Estate Co., argued it had no residence, place of business, or registered office in Philadelphia and that no agents or employees did business in the area when asking for a change of venue to Delaware County.
Malofiy responded by contending the company did regularly conduct business in Philadelphia. As proof, the appellant offered screenshots of their website, mediarealestate.com/featured-shortterm-listings.asp. The website included multiple rental listings for properties in Philadelphia County.
Media Real Estate Co. claimed some listings on their website were part of a partnership with another real estate company, Regus, and were asked to provide the trial court with the proper tax documentation to prove their case.
They were granted their request for a change of venue on Nov. 1, 2017. Malofiy unsuccessfully appealed.
“Appellant claims that the trial court erred in failing to compel disclosure of Appellee’s Philadelphia taxes and in transferring venue to Delaware County," the decision says.
"Following our review, we see no basis to disturb the court’s sound reasoning."