Rule 51.02.Change of Venue By Agreement.

Rule 51.02 gives parties a cooperative way to move a case without fighting over cause. If every party signs a stipulation naming a specific court of competent jurisdiction and files it at least thirty days before the trial date, the court must order the case transferred there. No hearing on the merits of the request is needed, because the parties already agree.

The tradeoff comes right after. Once a party has stipulated to this type of change, that party generally gives up the right to ask for any further change of venue or change of judge. The rule carves out two exceptions: a party can still seek a later change of venue if denying it would deprive that party of a fair hearing, and a party can still seek a change of judge for cause. Outside those two doors, the stipulation closes off further venue moves.

Because the rule applies only to actions triable by a jury, it does not reach bench-only proceedings. And because it requires agreement among the parties, it works differently from the one-sided procedures in Rules 51.03 and 51.04, which let a single party force a transfer without everyone’s consent.