In actions involving multiple parties, venue shall not be subject to objection:
§ 8.01-263.Multiple parties.
Chapter 5. Venue · Last amended 1977 · Last verified July 16, 2026
In one sentenceSection 8.01-263 protects venue in multi-party cases: if any party is entitled to preferred venue, suit in that forum is not subject to objection, provided at least one resident defendant supports it when residents and nonresidents are joined, and otherwise venue proper as to any one party suffices.
Full Text of § 8.01-263
1. If one or more of the parties is entitled to preferred venue, and such action is commenced in any such forum; provided that in any action where there are one or more residents and one or more nonresidents or parties unknown, venue shall be proper (preferred or permissible, as the case may be) as to at least one resident defendant;
2. In all other cases, if the venue is proper as to any party.
Plain-English Summary
Venue analysis gets more complicated once several parties are in the case, and § 8.01-263 supplies the rule for that situation. If any one of the parties is entitled to a preferred, Category A, venue, an action filed in that forum is not subject to objection — the presence of one qualifying party can anchor the whole case there.
That rule comes with a guardrail: when a case mixes resident and nonresident defendants, or defendants who are unknown, venue must still be proper as to at least one resident defendant, not merely as to a nonresident or unknown one. Outside that special situation, the section falls back to a simpler standard — venue holds as long as it is proper as to any party to the action, whether under Category A or Category B.
Frequently Asked Questions
If one defendant in a multi-party Virginia lawsuit has preferred venue, does that fix venue for the whole case?
Yes. Section 8.01-263 provides that venue is not subject to objection if one or more of the parties is entitled to preferred venue and the action is filed there.
What is the special rule when a case has both resident and nonresident defendants?
Venue must be proper, preferred or permissible, as to at least one resident defendant, not solely as to a nonresident or unknown party.
What is the general rule for multi-party cases outside the resident-defendant situation?
Venue is proper if it is proper as to any party to the action.
Does § 8.01-263 apply to both Category A and Category B venue?
Yes. It refers to both preferred venue and, in other cases, venue proper generally, covering both categories.
What is the purpose of the multiple-parties venue rule?
It keeps venue questions from splintering into a separate proper-forum requirement for every party in a case, so long as one party anchors venue under the statute’s terms.
Amendment History
1977, c. 617.
Source & verification. Section text and amendment history are
reproduced verbatim from the Code of Virginia, published by the
Code of Virginia, Virginia Division of Legislative Automated Systems. Last verified July 16, 2026.
· Official source
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