Venue is the geographic location (county in state court or district in federal court) where a lawsuit may be filed. Proper venue is usually determined by statute, and upon the filing of a lawsuit, the defendant may seek to transfer (move) the venue to a proper venue if it believes the plaintiff’s choice of venue is not a proper venue.
In Texas, the concept of venue refers to the appropriate or proper geographic location where a lawsuit should be filed. For state court cases, this is typically the county where the defendant resides or where the cause of action occurred. Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code provides detailed rules for determining proper venue. If a defendant believes that a lawsuit has been filed in an improper venue, they can file a motion to transfer venue. The court will then consider factors such as the convenience of parties and witnesses, as well as the interests of justice, to determine whether to grant the motion to transfer the case to a more appropriate venue. In federal court, venue is determined by federal statutes, such as 28 U.S.C. § 1391, which generally allow a lawsuit to be filed where any defendant resides, where a substantial part of the events or omissions giving rise to the claim occurred, or where any real property involved in the action is situated. Similar to state court, a defendant in federal court can challenge the plaintiff's choice of venue and seek to have the case moved to a different district.
