§ 410.30.Action Should Be Heard In Forum Outside State

Section 410.30 gives a California court a tool for turning away a case that does not belong here, even though jurisdiction exists. Subdivision (a) allows the court, on a party’s motion or its own motion, to stay or dismiss an action in whole or in part, on any conditions the court finds just, when it determines that the interest of substantial justice calls for the action to be heard in a forum outside California.

Subdivision (b) addresses a procedural wrinkle. Ordinarily, a defendant who makes a general appearance without first moving to quash service loses the right to challenge the court’s jurisdiction under § 418.10. Section 410.30 says that rule does not apply here — a defendant who has already made a general appearance can still bring a motion to stay or dismiss on forum grounds. That distinction reflects that this motion is not a jurisdictional challenge; the court has jurisdiction, but the case fits better somewhere else.

The version of this section now in force was amended in 1972. An older note in the statute’s history records that it was suspended for several years, from September 1986 to January 1992, while a temporary amendment applied instead — a reminder that the current text has not been continuously in force without interruption.