Venue, Transfer, and Forum Non Conveniens Flashcards
Basic IDea
WHICH federal court can this case be brought.
Basic choices under the venue statute
P may lay venue in any district where:
1) ALL defendants reside (residential venue) OR
2) A substantial part of the claim arose or a subsatntial part of the property invovled in the lawsuit is located (transactional venue)
NOTE: above does not apply for removed cases - those go to the federal district embracing the state court where the action was filed.
Residential venue nuance
When Ds reside in different district in the SAME state, P can law venue in EITHER district
Where claim can arise for transactional venue
A substantial part of the claim can arise in more than one district.
Venue when Defendant resides outside US
Proper in any federal district court.
But if another D does reside in the US, venue must be proper as to her.
Where Defendant “Resides” for venue purposes
Humans: Domicile
Business: Resides in all districts where it is subject to PJ for the case
Transfer of Venue
Transfer goes from one trial court in a judicial system to another trial court in the SAME judicial system.
Transferee must be a proper venue and have PJ over the D
Two transfer statutes
Transfer Statute 1 - Transfer from a proper venue
If the original district is a proper venue, that court can order transfer based on convenience of parties and witnesses and in the interests of justice.
Burden is on the person seeking transfer (usually D).
Court considers public and private factors showing that another court is the center of gravity for the case.
Transfer from a proper venue (Statute 1) effect on choice of law
Transferee court must apply the choice of law rules for the transferor court
Transfer from a proper venue (Statute 1) FSCs
Federal law enforces FSCs if reasonable. Some states don’t. In federal court, federal law governs transfer.
When there is a valid FSC, only public interest factors are considerd for transfer
When transfer is to enforce an FSC, the transferee court will apply its own choice of law rules
Statute 2 - Original Venue Is improper
If the origial district is an improper venue, court may transfer in the interest of justice OR dimiss. Usually, court will transfer if possible.
Original Venue is Improper Transfer (Diversity cases choice of law)
Transferee applies its own choice of law rules
Forum Non Conveniens
Applies when there is another court that is the cetner of gravity of the case, but here, the court cannot transfer the case to that court because it is in a different judicial system.
