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Rule 82 – Jurisdiction and Venue

May 13, 2021 | Civil Procedure, Mississippi

(a) Jurisdiction Unaffected. These rules shall not be construed to extend or limit the jurisdiction of the courts of Mississippi.
(b) Venue of Actions. Except as provided by this rule, venue of all actions shall be as provided by statute.
(c) Venue Where Claim or Parties Joined. Where several claims or parties have been properly joined, the suit may be brought in any county in which any one of the claims could properly have been brought. Whenever an action has been commenced in a proper county, additional claims and parties may be joined, pursuant to Rules 13, 14, 22 and 24, as ancillary thereto, without regard to whether that county would be a proper venue for an independent action on such claims or against such parties.
(d) Improper Venue. When an action is filed laying venue in the wrong county, the action shall not be dismissed, but the court, on timely motion, shall transfer the action to the court in which it might properly have been filed and the case shall proceed as though originally filed therein. The expenses of the transfer shall be borne by the plaintiff. The plaintiff shall have the right to select the court to which the action shall be transferred in the event the action might properly have been filed in more than one court.
(e) Forum Non-conveniens. With respect to actions filed in an appropriate venue where venue is not otherwise designated or limited by statute, the court may, for the convenience of the parties and witnesses or in the interest of justice, transfer any action or any claim in any civil action to any court in which the action might have been properly filed and the case shall proceed as though originally filed therein.

Miss. R. Civ. P. 82

Amended effective February 20, 2004, to add Section 82(e) allowing transfer for forum nonconveniens for cases filed after the effective date.

Advisory Committee Notes

Rule 82(c) provides that if venue is proper for one plaintiff’s claim and such plaintiff has been properly joined with other plaintiffs, venue is proper for all plaintiffs’ claims. Mississippi Code Annotated § 11-11-3(2), however, provides that “[i]n any civil action where more than one (1) plaintiff is joined, each plaintiff shall independently establish proper venue; it is not sufficient that venue is proper for any other plaintiff joined in the civil action.” Rule 82(b) states that “[e]xcept as provided by this rule, venue in all actions shall be as provided by statute.” Thus, there is a conflict between the rule and the statute in that the rule states that venue is proper in cases involving multiple plaintiffs who are properly joined if venue is proper for a single plaintiff’s claim, whereas the statute provides that in cases involving multiple plaintiffs venue must be proper for each plaintiff’s claim. There is no conflict in cases involving multiple defendants-“venue properly established against one defendant generally is proper against all defendants.” See Penn Nat’l Gaming, Inc. v. Ratliff, 954 So. 2d 427, 432 (Miss. 2007). In cases involving a medical malpractice defendant and another defendant, however, venue established by Mississippi Code Annotated § 11-11-3 is only appropriate in the county where the alleged malpractice occurred. See Adams v. Baptist Memorial Hospital-DeSoto, Inc., 965 So. 2d 652, 657-58 (Miss. 2007).

Rule 82(e) authorizes a motion to transfer venue to another court having proper venue within the state based upon forum non-conveniens. In addition, Mississippi Code Annotated § 11-11-3 authorizes transfer to another forum within Mississippi that is more convenient and further authorizes dismissal of the case in Mississippi if a more convenient forum is available in another state. A trial court ruling on a motion to dismiss made pursuant to the statute must determine whether, given “the interest of justice” and “the convenience of the parties and witnesses,” “a claim or action would be more properly heard in a forum outside this state or in a different county of proper venue within this state.” Mississippi Code Annotated §11-11- 3(4)(a). The trial court may consider the factors set forth in Mississippi Code Annotated §11- 11-3(4)(a).

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