3.1 Civil Practice in the General District Courts

• Library: The Virginia Lawyer: A Deskbook for Practitioners (Virginia CLE) (2022 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, ⁵⁴³ except with regard to personal injury or wrongful death claims, in which case the jurisdictional limit is $50,000, exclusive of interest and attorney fees. ⁵⁴⁴ Each general district court operates a small claims court with concurrent jurisdiction up to the jurisdictional limit of $5,000. ⁵⁴⁵ There is no jurisdictional amount-in-controversy requirement in actions for unlawful entry and detainer. ⁵⁴⁶ District courts are entirely creatures of statute, and all jurisdiction, power, and authority over any civil action is conferred by the Virginia Code. ⁵⁴⁷

B. Transfer and Amount of Claim.

Under former section 16.1-92 of the Virginia Code, a defendant could remove a matter to the circuit court under certain circumstances. This option was abolished in 2007. Even before this change, a plaintiff who filed in the general district court had very limited options available to increase the amount of his or her claim above the jurisdictional limits. There previously existed no mechanism for a plaintiff to transfer or remove a matter to the circuit court. The taking of a nonsuit generally requires that the case be refiled in the same court. ⁵⁴⁸ Even when filing a de novo appeal, the Virginia Code only permitted the plaintiff to increase the amount of the claim above the jurisdictional limits of the general district courts if the appeal was taken by the defendant. ⁵⁴⁹

Significantly, the Virginia Code was amended in 2019 to empower plaintiffs to freely increase or decrease the amount of the claim "without requiring that the case first be dismissed or that the plaintiff suffer a nonsuit" and without affecting the tolling of the statutes of limitations. ⁵⁵⁰ Except for good cause shown, the plaintiff must move to amend and transfer at least 10 days before trial. ⁵⁵¹ Cases can be moved from general district court to circuit court or vice versa.

To effectuate a transfer, the plaintiff must present an order of transfer to the transferring court for entry. The entry of this order removes the matter from the active docket of the court. The plaintiff then must present a certified copy of the order of transfer to the receiving court to complete the transfer. The plaintiff is required to pay all filing and other fees to initiate the matter in the receiving court. ⁵⁵²

These procedural changes provide the plaintiff with exclusive control over the choice of forum. ⁵⁵³ A defendant still may not remove a matter to a different forum. The amended statutes are silent as to the period in which the plaintiff must reinitiate the case in the new forum. Because this statute extends the tolling of the statutes of limitations, a defendant should ensure that the order of transfer provides appropriate time parameters for reinitiating the case.

C. Subject Matter.

Within the jurisdictional amounts, general district courts have jurisdiction to hear claims for: ⁵⁵⁴

1. Specific personal property (detinue); ⁵⁵⁵

2. Any debt, fine, or other money; ⁵⁵⁶

3. Damages for breach of contract; ⁵⁵⁷

4. Damages to property, real or personal; ⁵⁵⁸

5. Damages for personal injury, regardless of theory; ⁵⁵⁹

6. Wrongful death; ⁵⁶⁰

7. Attachment cases; ⁵⁶¹

8. Actions of unlawful entry or detainer; ⁵⁶²

9. Interpleader suits; ⁵⁶³

10. Virginia Tort Claims Act actions; ⁵⁶⁴

11. 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; ⁵⁶⁵

12. Cases brought under section 55.1-1959 of the Condominium Act ⁵⁶⁶ or section 55.1-1819 of the Property Owners' Association Act; ⁵⁶⁷

13. Enforcement of arbitration agreements per section 8.01-577 et seq. (concurrent with the circuit court); ⁵⁶⁸

14. Claims of any forthcoming bond taken by a sheriff or other officer upon a fieri facias; ⁵⁶⁹

15. Partition of personal property; and ⁵⁷⁰

16. Civil protective orders issued pursuant to sections 19.2-152.7:1 through 19.2-152.10.

For purposes of section 16.1-77, the territory served by a county general district court expressly authorized by statute to be established in a city includes the general district court courtroom.

D. Injunctive Relief.

General district courts do not issue injunctions. ⁵⁷¹

3.102 Venue and Service of Process.

A. Venue.

⁵⁷² 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." ⁵⁷³ 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. ⁵⁷⁴ For general district court purposes, these include (i) unlawful detainer actions, which must be brought where the land is located, ⁵⁷⁵ (ii) attachments, ⁵⁷⁶ (iii) distress, ⁵⁷⁷ and (iv) Virginia Tort Claims Act cases, which must be brought in the location where the claimant resides or the act or omission occurred. ⁵⁷⁸ Out-of-state claimants must bring Virginia Tort Claims Act cases in the City of Richmond. ⁵⁷⁹

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. ⁵⁸⁰ Permissible venues include, among others, the place where: (i) the defendant resides; ⁵⁸¹ (ii) the defendant has a principal place of employment; ⁵⁸² (iii) if the defendant is not an individual, it has its principal office or principal place of business; ⁵⁸³ (iv) the defendant has a registered office or registered agent; ⁵⁸⁴ (v) provided there exists any "practical nexus" to the forum, the defendant regularly conducts substantial business activity; ⁵⁸⁵ (vi) any part of the cause of action arose; ⁵⁸⁶ (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 or her subject to seizure by civil process; ⁵⁸⁷ or (vii) the plaintiff resides, provided there is no other permissible forum. ⁵⁸⁸ 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. ⁵⁸⁹

3. Objections to Improper Venue.

Objections to improper venue are raised by a motion to transfer. ⁵⁹⁰ That motion must be received by the court on or before the day of trial. ⁵⁹¹ The motion must specify why the current venue is improper and it must "give a better writ," namely, it must state where proper venue would lie. ⁵⁹² A motion to transfer may be filed by letter or other writing with the court, with a copy mailed to counsel of record. ⁵⁹³ 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 accomplished in the manner provided by section 8.01-285 et seq. of the Virginia Code. ⁵⁹⁴

1. Service upon Persons.

⁵⁹⁵ 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. ⁵⁹⁶

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. ⁵⁹⁷ 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). ⁵⁹⁸ 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 other civil pleading . . . , whether yet issued by the court or not" satisfies the mailing requirement, ⁵⁹⁹ 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." ⁶⁰⁰ 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, which verifies a mailing to the adverse party, must be filed with the clerk before judgment is entered. ⁶⁰¹

If a defendant is a nonresident, the practitioner should consult the appropriate statute providing for accomplishing...