Venue in Federal Court
Venue questions often arise in complex commercial litigation. What happens when a local defendant is dismissed from a Federal case, and the remaining defendants are all from other venues? Standing on its own, that does not require transfer to the venue where the remaining defendants are located. Venue is to be determined as of the time the complaint was filed and is not affected by a subsequent change of parties. Horihan v. Hartford Ins. Co. of the Midwest, 979 F.Supp. 1073, 1076 (E.D.Tex., 1997) (citations omitted) (finding venue must be determined as of status at time of filing rather than after dismissal of two defendants). It may be that dismissing a local defendant suddenly warrants a transfer for forum non conveniens, though. Still, there is a strong presumption in favor of the plaintiff’s forum choice which may be overcome only when private and public factors clearly point towards trial in the alternative forum. Piper Aircraft Co. v. Reyno, 454 U.S. 235, 255 (1981).