Facts
- Homeowners contracted in writing with a contractor to perform residential repairs related to hurricane damage.
- The contractor substantially completed the work, and the homeowners later received an invoice showing a fixed balance due ($16,881.36).
- The invoice directed payment to the contractor’s Clearwater address in Pinellas County.
- The plaintiff, alleging it was the contractor’s successor in interest, sued for breach of contract in Pinellas County and alleged payment was due and payable there.
- The homeowners moved to transfer venue to Charlotte County, asserting the work occurred there and that payment was due there, but filed no supporting affidavits.
- The trial court granted the venue transfer without explaining its reasoning, and the plaintiff pursued a nonfinal appeal.
Issues
- In a suit seeking a sum certain for nonpayment under a contract and invoice, is venue proper in the county designated as the place of payment?
- May a trial court transfer venue when the defendant offers only unsworn assertions and files no affidavits controverting the complaint’s venue allegations?
Decision
- The appellate court reversed the order transferring venue to Charlotte County and remanded for further proceedings in Pinellas County.
- The court held the place-of-payment rule applied because the plaintiff sought a fixed, liquidated amount shown on the invoice and the invoice specified where payment was to be sent.
- The court held the homeowners failed to meet their burden to contest venue because they filed no affidavits to dispute the pleaded place of payment.
Legal Principles
- For a claim based on failure to pay a sum certain, venue is proper in the county where payment is to be made when the contract or invoice specifies or implies that place.
- A defendant seeking to transfer venue must controvert the plaintiff’s venue allegations with affidavits; absent such proof, the allegations are treated as true for purposes of the venue motion.
- When venue is proper in more than one county, a plaintiff’s selection of a proper venue should not be disturbed without an evidentiary basis.
- The place-of-payment rule generally does not control where the claim is for an unliquidated equitable adjustment rather than a sum certain.
Conclusion
Because the action sought a definite unpaid balance and the invoice directed payment to a Pinellas County address, venue was proper in Pinellas County; the homeowners’ unsupported transfer request could not overcome the uncontroverted venue allegations, so the transfer order was reversed and the case returned to Pinellas County.