H. B. 4626
(By Delegates G. White, Overington,
Stalnaker, Evans and Trump)
[Introduced February 22, 2002; referred to the
Committee on the Judiciary.]
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 limiting state
court venue for certain nonresident plaintiffs.
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 any of 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 or
her 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
(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 or
her 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.
(c) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, if
the defendant is a corporation and the action includes a claim for
personal injury or wrongful death:
(1) The action shall be tried, at the option of the plaintiff,
in a county in which: (i) The cause of action arose; (ii) the
plaintiff resided when the cause of action arose or at the time the
suit was filed; (iii) a plurality of the plaintiffs resided at the
time the cause of action accrued if the action includes multiple
plaintiffs, but only if all of the plaintiffs resided in the state
at the time the cause of action accrued or at the time the suit was
filed; (iv) the defendant has its principal place of business or is
incorporated; or (v) the defendant company does business in this
state if the plaintiff demonstrates to the court that jurisdiction
over the defendant company can be obtained only in this state and
not in any other state or jurisdiction;
(2) Notwithstanding any law or rule to the contrary, the court
shall transfer the claims of any plaintiff for whom venue is not appropriate in that court under this section, including any
plaintiff in an action involving more than one plaintiff or any
plaintiff otherwise joined or aggregated with other plaintiffs in
an action or actions, to a court in the state in which venue would
be proper. If venue is not proper as to such plaintiff in any
court of this state, the court shall dismiss the claims of such
plaintiff without prejudice to refiling in a court in any other
state or jurisdiction.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to restrict access to state
courts for certain nonresident plaintiffs.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.