H-3623.1  _______________________________________________

                          HOUSE BILL 2801

          _______________________________________________

State of Washington      57th Legislature     2002 Regular Session

By Representatives Alexander and DeBolt

Read first time 01/29/2002.  Referred to Committee on Judiciary.

Changing provisions relating to the venue of court actions filed against the state.

    AN ACT Relating to the venue of court actions filed against the state; and amending RCW 4.92.010.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

    Sec. 1.  RCW 4.92.010 and 1986 c 126 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:

    Any person or corporation having any claim against the state of Washington shall have a right of action against the state in the superior court.

    The venue for such actions shall be as follows:

    (1) The county of the residence or principal place of business of one or more of the plaintiffs;

    (2) The county where the cause of action arose;

    (3) The county in which the real property that is the subject of the action is situated; or

    (4) The county where the action may be properly commenced by reason of the joinder of an additional defendant((; or

    (5) Thurston county)).

    Actions shall be subject to change of venue in accordance with statute, rules of court, and the common law as the same now exist or may hereafter be amended, adopted, or altered.

    Actions shall be tried in the county in which they have been commenced in the absence of a seasonable motion by or in behalf of the state to change the venue of the action.

In any one calendar year in which ten actions against the state have been filed in Thurston county, a change of venue must be made to move additional actions filed against the state to the superior court of another county in accordance with the venue criteria established in subsections (1) through (4) of this section.  In the event that venue criteria in subsections (1) through (4) of this section all indicate Thurston county as the place of venue for an action to be filed against the state, then the Thurston county superior court shall have discretion to either accept venue or require the parties to change venue to another county superior court in accordance with rules adopted by the administrator for the courts.

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