Venue

Venue is one of two terms used to designate the proper court to hear a matter, the other being jurisdiction.

Venue refers to the geographical area where one of the parties has residence, or the legal right to have a court in that area hear a matter. For example, if a landlord wants to sue a tenant for eviction, the general rule is the landlord must bring suit in a court within the geographical region where the rental property is located, not where the landlord personally resides. Another example is the heirs in a probate matter generally must have the case heard where the deceased had his/her domicile at the time of death, not where the death took place.