3.1 Civil Practice in the General District Courts

• Library: The Virginia Lawyer: A Deskbook for Practitioners (Virginia CLE) (2018 Ed.)

3.1 CIVIL PRACTICE IN THE GENERAL DISTRICT COURTS

3.101 Jurisdiction.

A. Amount in Controversy. The general district courts are original jurisdiction courts with exclusive original jurisdiction over claims not exceeding $4,500 and concurrent jurisdiction with the circuit courts for matters exceeding $4,500 but not more than $25,000, exclusive of interest and attorney fees. ¹ Each general district court operates a small claims court with concurrent jurisdiction up to the jurisdictional limit of $5,000. ² There is no jurisdictional amount-in-controversy requirement in actions for unlawful entry and detainer. ³ District courts are entirely creatures of statute, and all jurisdiction, power, and authority over any civil action is conferred by the Virginia Code. ⁴

B. Subject Matter. Within the jurisdictional amounts, general district courts have jurisdiction to hear claims for: ⁵

1.	Specific personal property (detinue); 6
2.	Any debt, fine, or other money; 7
3.	Damages for breach of contract; 8

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4.	Damages to property, real or personal; 9
5.	Damages for personal injury; 10
6.	Attachment cases; 11
7.	Actions of unlawful entry or detainer; 12
8.	Interpleader suits; 13
9.	Virginia Tort Claims Act actions; 14
10.	Enforcement of Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests (concurrent with the circuit court) or of the Government Data Collection and Dissemination Practices Act for writs of mandamus or injunctions; 15
11.	Cases alleging a civil violation described in section 18.2-76(G); 16
12.	Cases brought under section 55-79.80:2 of the Condominium Act 17 or section 55-513 of the Property Owners' Association Act; 18
13.	Enforcement of arbitration agreements per section 8.01-577 et seq. (concurrent with the circuit court); 19

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14.	Habitual offender proceedings (concurrent with the circuit court); 20
15.	Claims of any forthcoming bond taken by a sheriff or other officer upon a fieri facias; 21
16.	Partition of personal property; and 22
17.	Civil protective orders issued pursuant to sections 19.2- 152.7:1 through 19.2-152.10.

C. Injunctive Relief. General district courts do not issue injunctions. ²³

3.102 Venue and Service of Process.

A. Venue. ²⁴ The aim of the venue provisions in the Virginia Code is to try actions in a forum "convenient to the parties and witnesses, where justice can be administered without prejudice and delay." ²⁵ Actions may be brought in accordance with the general rules for venue provided in section 8.01-257 et seq. of the Virginia Code. There are two general categories, with several exceptions, that determine proper venue.

1. Category A or "Preferred" Venue. Matters that fall under the Category A or "preferred" venue statute must be filed as specified in that statute. ²⁶ For general district court purposes, these include (i) unlawful detainer actions, which must be brought where the land is located, ²⁷ (ii) attachments, ²⁸ (iii) distress, ²⁹ and (iv) Virginia Tort Claims Act cases,

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which must be brought in the location where the claimant resides or the act or omission occurred. ³⁰ Out-of-state claimants must bring Virginia Tort Claims Act cases in the City of Richmond. ³¹

2. Category B or "Permissible" Venue. When the statute does not specify a Category A or preferred venue, the list of Category B or "permissible" venues under section 8.01-262 of the Virginia Code controls. ³² Permissible venues include, among others, the place wherein: (i) the defendant resides; ³³ (ii) the defendant has a principal place of employment; ³⁴ (iii) if the defendant is not an individual, it has its principal office or principal place of business; ³⁵ (iv) the defendant has a registered office or registered agent; ³⁶ (v) provided there exists any "practical nexus" to the forum, the defendant regularly conducts substantial business activity; ³⁷ (vi) any part of the cause of action arose; ³⁸ (vii) if there is no other forum available as listed under section 8.01-262(1) through (8), the defendant has property or debts owing to him subject to seizure by civil process; ³⁹ or (vii) the plaintiff resides, provided there is no other permissible forum. ⁴⁰ Section 8.01-262 also provides additional permissible venues for actions to recover or partition personal property, against fiduciaries, for improper message transmission or misdelivery, and arising out of the delivery of goods. ⁴¹

3. Objections to Improper Venue. Objections to improper venue are raised by a motion to transfer. ⁴² That motion must be received by the court on or before the day of trial. ⁴³ The motion must specify why the current

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venue is improper and it must "give a better writ," namely, it must state where proper venue would lie. ⁴⁴ A motion to transfer may be filed by letter or other writing with the court, with a copy mailed to counsel of record. ⁴⁵ The party objecting to venue is not required to be present when the court rules upon the motion. In those cases, Rule 7B:11 states the procedures following the court's ruling, including transferring venue or setting a new trial date, as the case may be. The court may award the prevailing party costs and attorney fees under section 8.01-266.

B. Service of Process. Service of process in general district court is generally accomplished in the manner provided by section 8.01-285 et seq. of the Virginia Code. ⁴⁶

1. Service upon Persons. ⁴⁷ Service of process upon natural persons may be accomplished by the following methods, in order of preference: (i) delivery of a copy of the pleading to the party in person by the sheriff or another process server; (ii) substituted service, either by (a) delivering a copy of the pleading to a family member at least 16 years of age at the party's usual place of abode or (b) posting a copy of the process at the front door or main entrance of the defendant's usual place of abode; or (iii) service by order of publication as provided under section 8.01-316 et seq. ⁴⁸

Default judgment may not be obtained after posted service unless, at least 10 days before entry of default judgment, the plaintiff mails the defendant "a copy of such process" and then files a certificate of that mailing with the clerk of court. ⁴⁹ The word "process" refers to the summons issued by the clerk with a securely affixed copy of the motion for judgment or complaint (if applicable). ⁵⁰ Section 8.01-296 qualifies that "the mailing of the application for a warrant in debt or an affidavit for summons in unlawful detainer or

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other civil pleading . . . , whether yet issued by the court or not" satisfies the mailing requirement, ⁵¹ notwithstanding the fact that such pleadings may not constitute "process" in a technical sense. A parallel provision exists for circuit court actions, except that the circuit court complaint must be accompanied by a notice stating that "upon the expiration of 10 days after the giving of the notice and the expiration of the statutory period within which to respond, without further notice, the entry of a judgment by default as prayed for in the pleadings may be requested." ⁵² To comply with this statute, counsel should obtain a file-stamped copy of the original warrant, affidavit, or other pleading and mail a copy to the defendant sufficiently in advance of the return date. A certificate of service must be filed with the clerk. ⁵³

If a defendant is a nonresident, the practitioner should consult the appropriate statute providing for constructive service. ⁵⁴ Virginia is a "single transaction" state under section 8.01-328.1 (the long-arm statute). The grounds for exercising personal jurisdiction over a nonresident are enumerated in this statute. However, the Supreme Court of Virginia has held that the scope of section 8.01-328.1 is perfectly coextensive with the United States Constitution's "minimum contacts" test. ⁵⁵

2. Service upon Virginia Corporations. Service of process upon Virginia corporations is satisfied by personal service upon any officer, director, or registered agent of a corporation, ⁵⁶ or by substituted service in accordance with section 13.1-637 (stock corporations) or 13.1-836 (nonstock corporations). If the registered address of a corporation is a single-family residential dwelling, a 2016 amendment to section 8.01-299 permits service upon the registered agent by substituted service under section 8.01-296(2).

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3. Proof of Service. Proof of service must be filed with the court within 72 hours after service. ⁵⁷ Plaintiff's counsel should pay particular attention to this requirement if service is made by a private process server.

3.103 Commencement of an Action.

A. Initial Pleading.

1. In General. An action may be brought on a civil warrant or summons or by a motion for judgment or complaint. ⁵⁸ In most courts, actions are begun by using the fill-in-the-blank forms available at the clerk's office or on Virginia's Judicial System website. ⁵⁹ An action is deemed commenced upon filing of the appropriate pleading with the clerk and payment of the required fees. ⁶⁰

2. Copies. Sufficient copies of the pleading must be provided to the clerk's office so that each defendant can be served with a copy. ⁶¹ When filing by mail, it is a good practice to send an extra copy with a return envelope, postage prepaid, with instructions for the clerk to return a file-stamped copy.

3. Return Date. All actions commenced by warrant or motion for judgment must be returnable no later than 60 days after service of process. ⁶² For garnishment actions, the period is extended to 180 days in wage garnishment cases and 90 days in all other garnishment cases. ⁶³

The practitioner should consult the schedule of return dates in the court in which the case is to be filed. Most jurisdictions publish this information on their individual general district court websites, ⁶⁴ but...