{"id":900974,"date":"2023-03-28T16:23:00","date_gmt":"2023-03-28T22:23:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/?p=900974"},"modified":"2023-03-21T16:30:41","modified_gmt":"2023-03-21T22:30:41","slug":"construction-litigation-roundup-apparently-we-are-still-in-kansas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/construction-litigation-roundup-apparently-we-are-still-in-kansas\/","title":{"rendered":"Construction Litigation Roundup: \u201cApparently, We Are Still in Kansas\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Daniel Lund III | <a href=\"https:\/\/www.lexology.com\/library\/detail.aspx?g=2d96458e-4509-499a-8264-1cf81dcce49e&amp;utm_source=Lexology+Daily+Newsfeed&amp;utm_medium=HTML+email+-+Body+-+General+section&amp;utm_campaign=Lexology+subscriber+daily+feed&amp;utm_content=Lexology+Daily+Newsfeed+2023-03-10&amp;utm_term=\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">Phelps Dunbar<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Apparently, we are still in Kansas.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A subcontractor surety sued in Kansas state court by a general contractor and seeking to \u201cget out of Dodge\u201d removed the state case to federal court and then asked the federal court to transfer the matter to Washington state.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In fact, the roughly $500,000 claim against the surety dealt with a project in Tukwila, Washington. However, the underlying bonded subcontract called for litigation in the exclusive venue of the \u201cEighteenth Judicial District, District Court, Sedgwick County, Kansas.\u201d The court decision reflects that the subcontractor was not a party to the litigation \u2013 only the surety had been sued.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Kansas federal court first had to work its way past plaintiff\u2019s motion for remand, asserting that the surety was bound to litigate in the state court forum \u2013 because the performance bond incorporated the terms of the underlying subcontract. The district court disagreed, noting that the forum selection clause in the subcontract \u2013 although \u201cpresumptively valid\u201d \u2013 by its own terms did not apply to the surety. Rather, the clause spoke specifically and only to disputes \u201cbetween Contractor and Subcontractor.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Turning to the surety\u2019s motion for change of forum, the federal court (seeming intent to keep this case) was again unpersuaded by the mover. Weighing myriad factors \u2013 including:&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>the suit against the surety could have been brought in Washington federal court in the first instance&nbsp;<\/li><li>plaintiff\u2019s choice of forum (according to the court, given \u201cminimal\u201d weight; although personal jurisdiction over the surety in Kansas was not discussed by the court, it is presumed that the surety does business in the state)&nbsp;<\/li><li>relative congestion of Kansas court dockets versus Washington court dockets&nbsp;<\/li><li>applicable law (Washington state law would be applied)&nbsp;<\/li><li>cost of securing and accessibility of witnesses and evidence in Kansas concerning a Washington-state construction project&nbsp;<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>The federal court nonetheless refused to transfer the case to Washington:&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cDefendant \u2018has not identified any obstacles to a fair trial\u2019 in Kansas. \u2026 And other than cursory allegations that witnesses and proof are located in Washington, defendant has not shown that litigation in Washington would prove \u2018more easy, expeditious, or economical\u2019 than litigation in Kansas. \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIn total, as they apply here, the factors produce a relatively close call. \u2026But the governing legal standard requires defendant to demonstrate that the factors \u2018strongly favor\u2019 transfer of venue. \u2026 Defendant hasn&#8217;t sustained that burden.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/tinyurl.com\/bddvxt6e\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\"><em>Key Constr., Inc. v. W. Sur. Co., 2023 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 30475 (D. Kan. Feb. 23, 2023)<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>When one of your cases is in need of a construction expert, estimates, insurance appraisal or umpire services in defect or insurance disputes &#8211; please call Advise &amp; Consult, Inc. at 888.684.8305, or email <a href=\"mailto:experts@adviseandconsult.net\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">experts@adviseandconsult.net<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Daniel Lund III | Phelps Dunbar Apparently, we are still in Kansas.&nbsp; A subcontractor surety sued in Kansas state court by a general contractor and seeking to \u201cget out of Dodge\u201d removed the state case to federal court and then asked the federal court to transfer the matter to Washington state. In fact, the roughly&hellip; <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/construction-litigation-roundup-apparently-we-are-still-in-kansas\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Construction Litigation Roundup: \u201cApparently, We Are Still in Kansas\u201d<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[172],"tags":[9895,10312],"class_list":["post-900974","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-construction-law-2","tag-advise-consult","tag-venue-selection","entry"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Construction Litigation Roundup: \u201cApparently, We Are Still in Kansas\u201d - Advise &amp; Consult, Inc.<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/construction-litigation-roundup-apparently-we-are-still-in-kansas\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Construction Litigation Roundup: \u201cApparently, We Are Still in Kansas\u201d - Advise &amp; Consult, Inc.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Daniel Lund III | Phelps Dunbar Apparently, we are still in Kansas.&nbsp; A subcontractor surety sued in Kansas state court by a general contractor and seeking to \u201cget out of Dodge\u201d removed the state case to federal court and then asked the federal court to transfer the matter to Washington state. 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