We granted an application for an interlocutory appeal by GrayRobinson, P.A., a Florida law firm and the defendant in plaintiffs’ refiled action for legal malpractice, fraud, and other claims. GrayRobinson argues that the trial court erred when it denied its motion to dismiss the refiled action after it had dismissed the original action on the ground that Georgia was not a convenient forum. GrayRobinson also argues that plaintiffs’ state RICO claims are precluded and that their malpractice claims are insufficient for failure to file an expert affidavit under OCGA § 9-11-9.1. Because the trial court failed to make the required findings concerning forum non conveniens, we vacate the order denying the motion to dismiss and remand for further proceedings. The record shows that plaintiff Doug Olvey became embroiled in litigation concerning Design Pallets, Inc. DPI, a closely held Florida corporation of which he and his brother Mike were both principal shareholders. In 2005, Doug Olvey and others filed an action in Bulloch County, Georgia, against DPI’s onetime corporate counsel, Frank Hamner, and his law firm, GrayRobinson, as well as other defendants. The 2005 Georgia complaint raised numerous claims including negligence, professional malpractice, fraud, and Georgia RICO.
In November 2006, plaintiffs settled both the Florida and the Georgia actions with all defendants except Hamner and GrayRobinson. These two remaining defendants then filed a motion to dismiss for forum non conveniens, arguing that the case concerned the conduct of Florida lawyers on Florida matters. Citing OCGA § 9-10-31.1, the trial court found that Florida was indeed a more appropriate forum because i some important witnesses could not be compelled to testify in Georgia; ii with the dismissal of claims against Mike Olvey, a Bulloch County resident, the case “lacked any substantial local connection”; iii Bulloch County was not convenient to the remaining defendants; and iv in the context of the remaining claims for legal malpractice, Florida courts had “a far greater interest in ensuring the integrity of local legal representation” than any Georgia court. For these reasons, the Georgia trial court granted the motion to dismiss but granted plaintiffs leave to refile their claims in Florida.
