Venue Rules in the United States Federal Courts, Lecture notes of Civil procedure

Download Venue Rules in the United States Federal Courts and more Lecture notes Civil procedure in PDF only on Docsity! Page 358 TITLE 28—JUDICIARY AND JUDICIAL PROCEDURE § 1391 1984—Pub. L. 98–353, title I, § 102(b), July 10, 1984, 98 Stat. 335, added items 1408 to 1412. 1978—Pub. L. 95–598, title II, § 240(b), Nov. 6, 1978, 92 Stat. 2668, directed the addition of item 1408, ‘‘Bank- ruptcy appeals’’, which amendment did not become ef- fective pursuant to section 402(b) of Pub. L. 95–598, as amended, set out as an Effective Date note preceding section 101 of Title 11, Bankruptcy. 1968—Pub. L. 90–296, § 2, Apr. 29, 1968, 82 Stat. 110, added item 1407. § 1391. Venue generally (a) A civil action wherein jurisdiction is founded only on diversity of citizenship may, ex- cept as otherwise provided by law, be brought only in (1) a judicial district where any defend- ant resides, if all defendants reside in the same State, (2) a judicial district in which a substan- tial part of the events or omissions giving rise to the claim occurred, or a substantial part of property that is the subject of the action is situ- ated, or (3) a judicial district in which any de- fendant is subject to personal jurisdiction at the time the action is commenced, if there is no dis- trict in which the action may otherwise be brought. (b) A civil action wherein jurisdiction is not founded solely on diversity of citizenship may, except as otherwise provided by law, be brought only in (1) a judicial district where any defend- ant resides, if all defendants reside in the same State, (2) a judicial district in which a substan- tial part of the events or omissions giving rise to the claim occurred, or a substantial part of property that is the subject of the action is situ- ated, or (3) a judicial district in which any de- fendant may be found, if there is no district in which the action may otherwise be brought. (c) For purposes of venue under this chapter, a defendant that is a corporation shall be deemed to reside in any judicial district in which it is subject to personal jurisdiction at the time the action is commenced. In a State which has more than one judicial district and in which a defend- ant that is a corporation is subject to personal jurisdiction at the time an action is commenced, such corporation shall be deemed to reside in any district in that State within which its con- tacts would be sufficient to subject it to per- sonal jurisdiction if that district were a sepa- rate State, and, if there is no such district, the corporation shall be deemed to reside in the dis- trict within which it has the most significant contacts. (d) An alien may be sued in any district. (e) A civil action in which a defendant is an of- ficer or employee of the United States or any agency thereof acting in his official capacity or under color of legal authority, or an agency of the United States, or the United States, may, except as otherwise provided by law, be brought in any judicial district in which (1) a defendant in the action resides, (2) a substantial part of the events or omissions giving rise to the claim occurred, or a substantial part of property that is the subject of the action is situated, or (3) the plaintiff resides if no real property is involved in the action. Additional persons may be joined as parties to any such action in accordance with the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and with such other venue requirements as would be ap- plicable if the United States or one of its offi- cers, employees, or agencies were not a party. The summons and complaint in such an action shall be served as provided by the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure except that the delivery of the summons and complaint to the officer or agency as required by the rules may be made by certified mail beyond the territorial limits of the district in which the action is brought. (f) A civil action against a foreign state as de- fined in section 1603(a) of this title may be brought— (1) in any judicial district in which a sub- stantial part of the events or omissions giving rise to the claim occurred, or a substantial part of property that is the subject of the ac- tion is situated; (2) in any judicial district in which the ves- sel or cargo of a foreign state is situated, if the claim is asserted under section 1605(b) of this title; (3) in any judicial district in which the agen- cy or instrumentality is licensed to do busi- ness or is doing business, if the action is brought against an agency or instrumentality of a foreign state as defined in section 1603(b) of this title; or (4) in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia if the action is brought against a foreign state or political subdivision thereof. (g) A civil action in which jurisdiction of the district court is based upon section 1369 of this title may be brought in any district in which any defendant resides or in which a substantial part of the accident giving rise to the action took place. (June 25, 1948, ch. 646, 62 Stat. 935; Pub. L. 87–748, § 2, Oct. 5, 1962, 76 Stat. 744; Pub. L. 88–234, Dec. 23, 1963, 77 Stat. 473; Pub. L. 89–714, §§ 1, 2, Nov. 2, 1966, 80 Stat. 1111; Pub. L. 94–574, § 3, Oct. 21, 1976, 90 Stat. 2721; Pub. L. 94–583, § 5, Oct. 21, 1976, 90 Stat. 2897; Pub. L. 100–702, title X, § 1013(a), Nov. 19, 1988, 102 Stat. 4669; Pub. L. 101–650, title III, § 311, Dec. 1, 1990, 104 Stat. 5114; Pub. L. 102–198, § 3, Dec. 9, 1991, 105 Stat. 1623; Pub. L. 102–572, title V, § 504, Oct. 29, 1992, 106 Stat. 4513; Pub. L. 104–34, § 1, Oct. 3, 1995, 109 Stat. 293; Pub. L. 107–273, div. C, title I, § 11020(b)(2), Nov. 2, 2002, 116 Stat. 1827.) HISTORICAL AND REVISION NOTES Based on title 28, U.S.C., 1940 ed., §§ 111, 112 (Mar. 3, 1911, ch. 231, §§ 50, 51, 36 Stat. 1101; Sept. 19, 1922, ch. 345, 42 Stat. 849; Mar. 4, 1925, ch. 526, § 1, 43 Stat. 1264; Apr. 16, 1936, ch. 230, 49 Stat. 1213). Section consolidates section 111 of title 28, U.S.C., 1940 ed., with part of section 112 of such title. The portion of section 112 of title 28, U.S.C., 1940 ed., relating to venue generally constitutes this section and the parts relating to arrest of the defendant, venue and process in stockholders’ actions constitute sections 1401, 1693, and 1695 of this title. Provision in section 111 of title 28, U.S.C., 1940 ed., that a district court may proceed as to parties before it although one or more defendants do not reside in the district, and that its judgment shall be without preju- dice to such absent defendants, was omitted as covered by rule 19(b) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. Word ‘‘action’’ was substituted for ‘‘suit’’ in view of Rule 2 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. Word ‘‘reside’’ was substituted for ‘‘whereof he is an inhabitant’’ for clarity inasmuch as ‘‘inhabitant’’ and ‘‘resident’’ are synonymous. (See Ex parte Shaw, 1892, 12 S.Ct. 935, 145 U.S. 444, 36 L.Ed. 768; Standard Stoker Co.,