Venue (Situs of an Action)

Question 1

Venue (Place of Trial)

Answer 1

Venue deals with “where” the action may be brought. Venue is proper if:

1) A judicial district in which defendant resides, if all defendants reside in the same state OR
2) A judicial district in which a substantial part of the events giving rise to the claim occurred
3) If neither of the above provisions apply, then venue is proper in any district in which any defendant is subject to personal jurisdiction. This fallback provision will only apply when there is no other district in which the action may be brought.

Question 2

ESSAY TIP

Answer 2

ESSAY TIP: Venue’s fallback provision is unlikely to apply since it can only come into play when there are multiple defendants who live in different states and when a substantial part of the events took place outside of the United States.

Question 3

Venue - Venue for Corporations (Personal Jurisdiction)

Answer 3

For venue purposes, a corporation is deemed to “reside” in any judicial district in which it is subject to personal jurisdiction. It is important to note that if you get a venue question where the defendant is a corporation, a discussion of personal jurisdiction will likely surface.

1) A person’s residence is her domicile
2) Unlike subject matter jurisdiction, venue may be waived by the parties.

Question 4

Change of Venue

Answer 4

In the interest of justice, a court may transfer the case to any other district where it might have been brought. This means venue must be proper in the transferee court and the court must have personal jurisdiction over all defendants. The rational for instituting a change of venue is for the convenience of parties and witnesses.

Question 5

Change of Venue - Convenience Factors

Answer 5

Convenience Factors: The plaintiff’s choice of forum should be respect ad will be given considerable weight. Thus, the convenience factors must weigh strogly towards another forum. Before transferring a case, the court will consider: 1) the location of the witnesses 2) where the events occurred 3) the parties access to evidence 4) convenience of the parties 5) the jury’s ability to view the premises AND 4) the local interest in the dispute.

Question 6

ESSAY TIP

Answer 6

ESSAY TIP: When an essay asks about change of venue, make sure to discuss whether venue is proper in both the original court and the transferee court. After that, discuss which of these two courts is the more convenient forum. This will require balancing the above factors.

Question 7

Venue in California

CALIFORNIA

Answer 7

In California, venue refers to the county in which the action may be brought. The general concern of California’s venue statutes is that litigation can be conducted in a location convenient to the defendant. Therefore, a defendant is entitled to have the action tried in the count of her residence UNLESS the action falls within some statutory exception. Where there are multiple defendants venue is generally proper in any county where at least one of them resides.

1) One exception to the general rule involves actions for injury to a person i.e. physical or bodily injuries. In such cases, venue is proper in either the county where the injury occurred or the county in which one of the defendants reside.
2) In actions involving real property, venue is proper only in the county where the real property is located. California courts traditionally refer to actions involving real property as local actions, and all other actions as transitionary actions.

Question 8

Venue in California - Transitory Actions (Torts and Contracts)

Answer 8

California distinguishes between two types of actions: local action and transitory actions. Local actions concern interests in land. It refers to the county where the real property is located.

1) Transitory actions have no locality because the cause of action could have taken place anywhere. A common example of a transitory action is a car accident.
2) In transitory actions, venue is proper:
1) In any county where any defendant resides
2) In a personal injury action, where the injury occurred
3) In a contract claim, where the contract was entered into or expected to be performed
4) If no defendant resides in CA, venue is proper in any county

Question 9

Corporation Defendants

Answer 9

In an action against a corporation, venue is proper in the county where the contract was entered into or expected to be performed, where the breach occurred, or where the corporation has its principal place of business.

1) Venue in Federal Court: refers to the district in which to bring the action
2) Venue in California: refers to the county in which bring the action

Question 10

Transfer of Venue in California

CALIFORNIA

Answer 10

In CA, a defendant may move for transfer of venue 1) when there is reason believe that an impartial trial cannot be had OR 2) when the convenience of witnesses and the ends of justice would be promoted by the change.