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IN THE COMMONWEALTH COURT OF PENNSYLVANIA M. R. Mikkilineni, Appellant v. Indiana County Commissioners : : : : : :

No. 76 C.D. 2009 Argued: October 13, 2009

BEFORE:

HONORABLE ROBERT SIMPSON, Judge HONORABLE ROCHELLE S. FRIEDMAN, Senior Judge HONORABLE JIM FLAHERTY, Senior Judge FILED: December 3, 2009

OPINION BY SENIOR JUDGE FRIEDMAN

M. R. Mikkilineni (Mikkilineni) appeals from the December 15, 2008, order of the Court of Common Pleas of Westmoreland County transferring Mikkilineni's petition to confirm an arbitration award from Westmoreland County to Indiana County. We reverse.

In May of 1990, MRM Engineers, Inc. (MRM) entered into a contract with the Indiana County Commissioners (Commissioners) for the construction of a recycling center. A dispute occurred during construction, and MRM demanded

arbitration pursuant to the parties' arbitration agreement. That agreement provided that "[a]ll claims, disputes, and other matters in question arising out of, or relating to, this agreement or the breach thereof . . . shall be decided by arbitration in

accordance with the Construction Industry Arbitration Rules of the American Arbitration Association" and that the agreement "shall be specifically enforceable under the prevailing arbitration law." (Arbitration agreement at 32.) The agreement further specified that "[t]he locale for any hearing or hearings pursuant to this section

shall be in the Borough of Latrobe, Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania" and that "[t]he award rendered by the arbitrators shall be final, and judgement may be entered upon it in any court having jurisdiction thereof." (Arbitration agreement at 32.) Accordingly, the parties engaged in arbitration in Westmoreland County. On August 30, 1993, the arbitrator awarded MRM $103,199.25, and the Commissioners did not challenge that award.

MRM dissolved in 1996. Mikkilineni, MRM's successor-in-interest, attempted several times over the years to collect the arbitration award through letters and telephone contact. Finally, Mikkilineni filed a petition to confirm the arbitration award on September 25, 2008 in the Court of Common Pleas of Westmoreland County, seeking to collect the arbitration award, plus interest, costs and attorney's fees. The Commissioners filed a motion to strike, which included an objection to venue. The Commissioners specifically asserted that, "[p]ursuant to Pa. R.C.P [No.] 2103(b), Westmoreland County is not the proper venue and is without jurisdiction, as the award arises out of a contract dispute in Indiana County." (Motion to Strike, para. 7(d).) Pa. R.C.P. No. 2103(b) provides: "Except when the Commonwealth is the plaintiff or when otherwise provided by an Act of Assembly, an action against a political subdivision may be brought only in the county in which the political subdivision is located." On December 15, 2008, the Westmoreland County court transferred Mikkilineni's petition to confirm the arbitration award to Indiana County. The trial court based its decision on this court's opinion in Municipal Authority of the City of Monongahela v. Carroll Township Authority, 761 A.2d 194 (Pa. Cmwlth. 2000), aff'd, 567 Pa. 490, 788 A.2d 356 (2002), wherein we determined that Pa. R.C.P. No. 2

2103(b) mandated that an initial action against a political subdivision must be brought in the county where the political subdivision is located. Thereafter, Mikkilineni requested reconsideration, which the trial court denied by order dated December 29, 2008.1

On appeal to this court,2 Mikkilineni argues that the Westmoreland County court erred by transferring the petition to Indiana County based on our decision in Monongahela. We agree.

In Monongahela, the Carroll Township Authority and the Township of Carroll (together, CTA) were parties to a contract with the Municipal Authority of the City of Monongahela and the City of Monongahela (together, Monongahela) over rates to be charged for treatment of sewage water. When a dispute arose, CTA went to the Washington County Court of Common Pleas, seeking to compel arbitration. The court ordered arbitration proceedings, which occurred in Allegheny County,

Even so, the Westmoreland County court stated that "a substantial issue of venue" was presented by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court's per curiam order at 567 Pa. 490, 788 A.2d 356 (2002) and, therefore, "the Plaintiff may file an appeal as of right to the proper appellate court pursuant to Pa. Rule of Appellate Procedure 311(b)(2)." Mikkilineni v. Indiana County Commissioners (C.P. Westmoreland, No. 10889 of 2008, filed December 29, 2008). A trial court's determination as to whether to transfer venue shall remain undisturbed absent an abuse of discretion. Mikkilineni v. Amwest Surety Insurance Co., 919 A.2d 306 (Pa. Cmwlth.), appeal denied, 594 Pa. 682, 932 A.2d 1290 (2007). An abuse of discretion is not merely an error in judgment; if, in reaching a conclusion, the law is overridden or incorrectly applied, discretion is abused. Gillespie v. Department of Transportation, Bureau of Driver Licensing, 886 A.2d 317 (Pa. Cmwlth. 2005). When considering questions of law, our standard of review is de novo, and our scope of review is plenary. Davis v. Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority, 980 A.2d 709 (Pa. Cmwlth. 2009).
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where the arbitrator had his office. Following the arbitrator's award, Monongahela appealed to the Allegheny County common pleas court, and CTA asked that venue be transferred to Washington County, where all of the parties were located. The

Allegheny County court refused to do so under the theory that it was barred from transferring venue pursuant to section 7319 of the Uniform Arbitration Act (UAA), 42 Pa. C.S.

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