The Pennsylvania Superior Court has upheld the transfer of a lawsuit stemming from a truck-on-truck crash from Philadelphia to Cumberland County.

In its July 28 ruling, a three-member Superior Court panel consisting of Judges John T. Bender, Mary Jane Bowes and Jacqueline O. Shogan affirmed a Philadelphia judge's decision to transfer the case.

The accident occurred on Jan. 14, 2014, when Yakov R. Melnik, driving a commercial truck for Illinois-based First Global Express Inc., crashed into a parked tractor-trailer operated by plaintiff Paul Sinclair on the Pennsylvania Turnpike near mile marker 226.9 in Cumberland County.

Sinclair sustained injuries as a result of the collision, and sued Melnik and First Global express in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas on Jan. 5, 2016.

The defendants asked the court to transfer the case to Erie County, with the ultimate result being a transfer to Cumberland.

Sinclair and his wife, North Carolina residents, appealed the decision on the grounds that travel from their home to Cumberland County was inconvenient.

According to the court's memorandum, written by Bender, they also took issue with the trial court taking into account Melnik's affidavit claiming it would be "extremely oppressive and inconvenient" and "extremely difficult" for him to travel to Philadelphia to defend the lawsuit.

The trial court, in ordering the transfer, relied in part on the 1997 Pennsylvania Supreme Court case Cheeseman v. Lethal Exterminator and the 2014 case Bratic v. Rubendall.

"The trial court found the Bratic case, which involves a matter transferred from Philadelphia County to Dauphin County, similarly, on the basis of forum non conveniens, to be instructive here," Bender said. "In Bratic, the Supreme Court emphasized the importance of considering the totality of the evidence in determining whether a forum is oppressive and vexatious, and noted that factors to be considered may include distance and the disruption of a witness' personal or professional life."

He continued, "Moreover, the trial court noted that the affidavits in Bratic were essentially identical in nature to the affidavits in the instant case, stating that trial in Philadelphia would be a personal and financial hardship due to the associated costs, travel and time away from work."

The trial court pointed out that Melnik would have to travel 400 miles and drive seven hours in order to reach Philadelphia from his home in Erie.

"Attending trial over 400 miles away from home leaves little possibility of meeting any professional or personal obligations a defendant may have," the trial court's opinion said.

Sinclair's attorney, Howard Bashman, and First Global's attorney, Laurence Grossman, did not respond to requests for comment.