Rule 51.04.Change of Venue From Inhabitants for Cause--Procedure.

Where Rule 51.03 grants a change of venue automatically in smaller counties, Rule 51.04 covers the harder case: a party in any county, regardless of size, who believes the local community itself is against them. The rule recognizes two causes — prejudice of the inhabitants against the applicant, or undue influence the opposing party holds over those inhabitants — and lets a party apply for transfer on that basis.

The application must be filed at least thirty days before trial, or within ten days after a trial date is set, whichever comes later, and it must state which cause or causes the party relies on. It need not be verified and may be signed by the party, an agent, or an attorney. The opposing party gets ten days to file a denial of the alleged cause; if no denial is filed, the change is granted automatically. If a denial is filed, the court must hear evidence and decide whether the alleged cause exists, and if the applicant prevails, the court must order the transfer to a county where the cause does not exist and which is convenient to the parties.

Like Rule 51.03, the rule groups parties into classes — plaintiffs, defendants, third-party plaintiffs and defendants, and intervenors — and limits each class to one change of venue total, whether obtained under this rule, Rule 51.02, or Rule 51.03. Condemnation cases with multiple defendants and separate damages trials get a narrow exception, treating each separate trial as its own case for venue purposes. When a change is granted, the whole action moves unless a separate trial has been ordered, in which case only the applicant’s portion transfers.