Peck v. Island Operating Co., Inc. et al

Filing 33

OPINION AND ORDER granting 28 Motion to Change Venue and this action SHALL be TRANSFERRED to Western District of Louisiana, Lafayette Division on November 23, 2012, unless, upon the filing of timely objections, the District Court finds this Order t o be clearly erroneous or contrary to law. The District Clerk SHALL MAKE NO EFFORT to transfer this case before November 23, 2012, or before the resolution of any objections, if filed. (Signed by Magistrate Judge John R Froeschner) Parties notified.(sanderson, )

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF TEXAS
GALVESTON DIVISION
STEPHEN PECK

§
§
V.
§
§
ISLAND OPERATING COMPANY, INC., §
and APACHE CORPORATION
§

CIVIL ACTION NO. G-11-446

OPINION AND ORDER
Before the Court by referral from the Honorable Gregg Costa, United States District
Judge, is the “Motion to Transfer Venue” of Defendants, Island Operating Company, Inc.
(“IOC”) and Apache Corporation; the Motion seeks to have this cause of action transferred
to the Western District of Louisiana. Plaintiff, Stephen Peck, is opposed to the transfer.
After this personal injury lawsuit was filed, originally in Galveston County Court, the
Parties agreed to attempt to mediate the case. To that end, the Defendants postponed the
filing of their intended Motion to Transfer Venue and Peck, in return, agreed he would not
challenge such a Motion, if filed, on the grounds of untimeliness or waiver. Apparently,
mediation efforts were sufficiently unsuccessful to prompt the Defendants to file the instant
Motion on September 12, 2012. In opposition to the Motion Peck argues that the Galveston
Division is the more convenient forum for the trial now set in June 2013. This Court
respectfully disagrees with Peck.

This case seems to have absolutely no connection to this Division at all. Peck resides
in Carencro, Louisiana, a suburb of Lafayette. Peck was injured on a fixed platform, owned
by Apache, while located on the Outer Continental Shelf off the coast of Louisiana which
could require some application of Louisiana state law. Eight of the eleven IOC crew
members aboard the rig at the time, including the head foreman, were Louisiana residents.
Peck’s employer, Logistic Control Systems, had two other employees on the rig who were
also residents of Louisiana. Logistic Control Systems, itself, is located in Lafayette. The
pertinent offices of IOC are located in Lafayette. The work being conducted at the time of
Peck’s injury was through the Lafayette Office of Apache. Six of the treating physicians
identified in Peck’s Designation of Experts practice in Lafayette and the seventh in Carencro.
Clearly, the Lafayette Division of the Western District of Louisiana is more convenient for
all of the Louisiana residents and businesses.
Peck argues that he intends to have his three most important expert witnesses testify
live at trial and, therefore, Galveston is more convenient for them. However, the Court notes
that Dr. Roman, Peck’s medical expert, practices in San Antonio; Mr. Madelay, Peck’s
engineer, resides in College Station; and Dr. McCoin, Peck’s economist, resides in Houston.
Each would obviously have to “travel” to Galveston for trial.
Having given due consideration to the availability and convenience of witnesses and
parties; the location of relevant business records; the costs of obtaining the attendance of
witnesses; the lack of subpoena power of this Court over most witnesses; the place of the

2

alleged wrong; and the remaining eight months before the current trial setting, see Dupre v.
Sanier Marine Corp., 810 F.Supp. 823, 825 (S.D. Tex. 1993), this Court concludes that the
transfer sought by the Defendants should occur.
It is, therefore, the ORDER of this Court that the “Motion to Transfer Venue”
(Instrument no. 28) of Defendants, Island Operating Company and Apache Corporation, is
GRANTED and this action SHALL be TRANSFERRED to the United States District Court
for the Western District of Louisiana, Lafayette Division, on November 23, 2012,
unless, upon the filing of timely objections, the District Court finds this Order to be clearly
erroneous or contrary to law. Cf. Paoa v. Marati, 2007 WL 4563938 (D. Haw. 2007) (A
magistrate judge’s order transfer venue may be rejected by the district court only if it is
clearly erroneous or contrary to law.)
The District Clerk SHALL MAKE NO EFFORT to transfer this case before

November 23, 2012, or before the resolution of any objections, if filed.
DONE at Galveston, Texas, this

6th

3

day of November, 2012.