§ 134.004.Suit

A venue provision with two options and no hierarchy between them.

A suit under this chapter may be brought in the county where the theft occurred or in the county where the defendant resides.

The plaintiff chooses. The section names both without preferring either, so either county is available.

Read it with the venue chapter’s other-permissive-venue provision, which imports permissive venue rules from elsewhere in Texas law. This is one of those rules, so it adds to the options under the general venue rule rather than replacing them.

The county of the theft is often the useful one. Property is taken where the owner is, and a plaintiff whose goods were taken from their own premises can sue at home without depending on where the thief lives.

The defendant-residence option matters where the theft location is disputed or unknown — with converted funds, or property that went missing without a clear moment or place.

Note what the section does not say. It does not make venue mandatory, so it does not displace a mandatory provision elsewhere; and it says nothing about a defendant with no Texas residence, who is reached through the general venue rules and the long-arm provisions.