Also known as: proper venues · venue
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A statutory requirement that fixes the judicial district in which a plaintiff may commence a civil action. The requirement is satisfied when the district meets criteria such as the defendant's residence or the location of a substantial part of the events giving rise to the claim. Failure to satisfy the requirement exposes the action to dismissal under Rule 12(b)(3).
Paula Pierce files her contract suit against Pinnacle Holdings in the Eastern District of New York. All events occurred and the defendant resides in the Southern District. Pinnacle moves under Rule 12(b)(3) to dismiss the complaint for improper venue.
Pacific Bank maintains its headquarters and most customer contacts in the Northern District of Illinois. A customer sues the bank in the Central District for a loan dispute arising from Northern District transactions. The court treats the bank as residing only in the Northern District under the multi-district corporate rule.
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Pedro Pacheco petitions to establish intestacy of his aunt's estate in County A. The aunt lived and died in County B. The court requires Pacheco to present prima facie proof of proper venue before proceeding further with the intestacy claim.
Penelope Price sues Precision Tools in the District of Massachusetts, a proper venue. The court transfers the case to the District of Rhode Island for convenience. The Rhode Island court must apply Massachusetts choice-of-law rules to the transferred claims.
Phoenix Technologies creates a trust whose principal place of administration is County C. A beneficiary files a petition to remove the trustee in County D. The court dismisses the petition because venue lies only in County C under the trust venue statute.
Parker Phillips commences suit in the wrong federal district. The defendant moves to dismiss under Rule 41(b) for failure to prosecute after Phillips ignores a venue order. The court dismisses without prejudice because the order rests on improper venue rather than the merits.
Venue concerns the particular judicial district inside a state that may hear the case. Personal jurisdiction concerns whether the state itself may exercise power over the defendant. A court may have personal jurisdiction yet still lack proper venue.
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The dismissal does not operate as an adjudication on the merits. The plaintiff may refile in a proper district without claim-preclusion consequences.
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No. The corporation resides only in districts where its contacts would support personal jurisdiction if the district were a separate state, or, if none, in the district of its most significant contacts.
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A petitioner seeking to establish intestacy must present prima facie proof of venue. A will proponent who is also a petitioner must likewise prove venue.
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…the action be filed in an appropriate district court. These two requirements specify a statute of limitations and appropriate venue, and are waivable by the parties. Salfi , 422 U. S., at 763-764. As in Salfi no question as to whether Eldridge satisfied these requirements was timely raised below, see Fed. Rules Civ.…