Senate Bill No. 649
(By Senators Chafin and Kessler)
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[Introduced February 23, 1998; referred to the
Committee on the Judiciary.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact section one, article one, chapter
fifty-six of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine
hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to venue generally.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section one, article one, chapter fifty-six of the code
of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as
amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 1. VENUE.
§56-1-1. Venue generally.
(a) Any civil action or other proceeding, except where it is
otherwise specially provided, may hereafter be brought in the
circuit court of any county:
(1) Wherein any of the defendants may reside or the cause of
action arose, except that an action of ejectment or unlawful detainer must be brought in the county wherein the land sought to
be recovered or some part thereof, is; or
(2) If a corporation be a defendant, wherein its principal
office is, or wherein its mayor, president or other chief officer
resides; or if its principal office be not in this state, and its
mayor, president or other chief officer do not reside therein,
wherein it does business; or if it be a corporation organized
under the laws of this state, which has its principal office
located outside of this state, and which has no office or place
of business within the state, the circuit court of the county in
which the plaintiff resides or the circuit court of the county in
which the seat of state government is located shall have
jurisdiction of all actions at law or suits in equity against
such corporation, where the cause of action arose in this state
or grew out of the rights of stockholders with respect to
corporate management; or
(3) If it be to recover land or subject it to a debt,
wherein such land or any part thereof may be; or
(4) If it be against one or more nonresidents of the state,
wherein any one of them may be found and served with process, or
may have estate or debts due him or them; or
(5) If it be to recover a loss under any policy of
insurance, upon either property, life or health, or against injury to a person, wherein the property insured was situated
either at the date of the policy or at the time when the right of
action accrued; or the person insured had a legal residence at
the date of his death or at the time when the right of action
accrued; or
(6) If it be on behalf of the state in the name of the
attorney general or otherwise, wherein the seat of government is
or in the circuit court of any county wherein the cause of action
arose; or
(7) If a judge of a circuit be interested in a case which,
but for such interest, would be proper for the jurisdiction of
his court, the action or suit may be brought in any county in an
adjoining circuit.
(b) Whenever a civil action or proceeding is brought in the
county wherein the cause of action arose, under the provisions of
subsection (a) of this section, if no defendant resides in such
county, a defendant to the action or proceeding may move the
court before which the action is pending for a change of venue to
a county wherein one or more of the defendants resides, and upon
a showing by the moving defendant that the county to which the
proposed change of venue would be made would better afford
convenience to the parties litigant and the witnesses likely to
be called, and if the ends of justice would be better served by such change of venue, the court may grant such motion.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to permit the state, in
the name of the attorney general or otherwise, to bring an action
in the circuit court of any county wherein the cause of action
arose or in the circuit court of Kanawha County.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken
from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language
that would be added.