St. Clair County Circuit Judge William Stiehl transferred a lawsuit involving a Wood River car crash and two Madison County motorists after the defendant argued that the complaint must have been filed in the wrong venue.
Attorney Van-Lear Eckert filed the complaint on behalf of plaintiff Tanner Weston on April 20 in the St. Clair County Circuit Court against Peggy Calvin. It was transferred to Madison County on Aug. 16.
According to the complaint, Weston was traveling through the intersection at Rock Hill Road and Wesley Drive in Wood River on May 20, 2019 at approximately 1:30 p.m. He claims Calvin was traveling towards the same intersection when she allegedly failed to stop at the stop sign and struck the front passenger side of Weston’s vehicle.
Eckert
Weston alleges Calvin was negligent for failing to keep a proper lookout, failing to keep her vehicle under control, failing to properly apply brakes, failing to slow down when approaching the intersection and failing to stop or yield the right of way.
As a result, Weston claims he was “violently thrown within the confines of his vehicle” and suffered injuries to his neck and head, resulting in a concussion and traumatic brain injury.
Martin Morrissey of Heyl Royster Voelker & Allen PC in Edwardsville filed a motion to dismiss or transfer on behalf of Calvin on May 21.
Morrissey wrote that the complaint was filed in the wrong venue. He argued that Weston is a resident of South Roxana, Calvin is a resident of Cottage Hills and the collision occurred in Wood River. Nothing in the complaint is connected to St. Clair County.
Stiehl entered an agreed order on June 10, granting the defendant’s motion to transfer to Madison County Circuit Court. He wrote that the plaintiff had no objections to the transfer.
Madison County Circuit Court case number 21-L-998