A lot of potential clients ask me in which county can they bring their lawsuit.
While, where to bring the lawsuit can be an easy choice, like when everyone is located in a particular county, it can also be a more ambiguous choice as well.
However, there are some general rules/guidelines to follow:
1. If the lawsuit is over real property, i.e. a house, then the action must be brought where the property is located.
2. The Plaintiff can bring the lawsuit in the county (s)he is located.
3. The Plaintiff can bring the lawsuit in any county where any defendant is located.
4. The county where the lawsuit is brought must have some connection to the case.
As to number 4, for example, if you are on vacation in South Carolina and you trip and fall there, you cannot start a personal injury case in New York, because all the witnesses, and the location of the accident happened in South Carolina.
I have had someone who lived in New York, who won a lawsuit in Kentucky and wanted to collect from a Kentucky company, want to hire me for the collection work. I had to explain that he needed to hire a Kentucky lawyer.
Something to remember is that the location where the lawsuit takes place, known as venue, can be changed if there is another county that is better suited for the lawsuit.
For example, I have successfully changed counties in a lawsuit where the Plaintiff had an office in one county, but the defendants, witnesses, and location where the incident occurred all happened in another county.
I hope this helps explain where to bring your lawsuit.
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