Thomas M. Elliott brought a workers' compensation claim against his employer, RM Logistics, Inc., in the Walker Circuit Court in October 2016. RM Logistics responded by denying liability and later filed a motion in June 2017 to dismiss Elliott's complaint or alternatively transfer the case, arguing it was filed in an inappropriate venue. This motion for dismissal or transfer experienced multiple reschedulings by the trial court, without a final decision being made.
Frustrated with the delays, RM Logistics petitioned for a writ of mandamus in November 2018, requesting the higher court to either dismiss Elliott's claim or transfer the case to a court they deemed appropriate. Mandamus is a significant remedy and is granted only under specific conditions. While courts typically won't issue a mandamus if a trial court hasn't ruled on a motion, RM Logistics highlighted the undue delay in their case.
Drawing parallels to previous decisions, the appellate court concluded that venue-related decisions should be handled quickly. Given the excessive delay and the absence of a rescheduled hearing date for the motion, the court granted RM Logistics' mandamus petition and instructed the trial court to rule promptly on the pending motion to dismiss or transfer.
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