In any action which is transferred or retained for trial pursuant to this chapter, the court in which the action is initially brought may award an amount necessary to compensate a party for such inconvenience, expense, and delay as he may have been caused by the commencement of the suit in a forum to which an objection, pursuant to § 8.01- 264, is sustained or by the bringing of a frivolous motion to transfer. In addition, the court may award those attorney's fees deemed just and reasonable which are occasioned by such commencement of a suit or by such motion to transfer. The awarding of such costs by the transferor court shall not preclude the assessment of costs by the clerk of the transferee court.
§ 8.01-266.Costs.
Chapter 5. Venue · Last amended 1994 · Last verified July 16, 2026
In one sentenceSection 8.01-266 lets the court where an action was first filed award costs, expenses, and reasonable attorney’s fees to compensate a party inconvenienced by a suit filed in an improper forum or by a frivolous motion to transfer, without preventing the receiving court from separately assessing its own costs.
Full Text of § 8.01-266
Plain-English Summary
Filing in the wrong forum, or fighting a transfer motion that never had merit, can cost the other side real time and money. Section 8.01-266 lets the court where the action was originally brought make that party whole. When an objection to venue under § 8.01-264 is sustained, or when a party brings a frivolous motion to transfer, the transferor court may award an amount to cover the inconvenience, expense, and delay the other side suffered because of it.
The court may go further and award reasonable attorney’s fees tied to that improper filing or that frivolous transfer motion, on top of the other costs. And awarding costs at the transferor court does not use up the case’s only chance at cost-shifting — the clerk of the court the case gets transferred to can still assess its own costs separately.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a party recover costs for having to litigate a venue objection in Virginia?
Yes. Section 8.01-266 lets the court award an amount to compensate for inconvenience, expense, and delay caused by commencement of suit in a forum where a venue objection under § 8.01-264 is sustained.
Are attorney’s fees available under this section?
Yes, the court may award attorney’s fees deemed just and reasonable which are occasioned by the improper filing or by a frivolous motion to transfer.
Does filing a frivolous motion to transfer venue expose a party to cost awards?
Yes. The section applies equally to costs and fees caused by the bringing of a frivolous motion to transfer.
Which court awards these costs — the original court or the one the case is transferred to?
The court in which the action is initially brought, the transferor court, may award them.
Can the transferee court also assess costs after the transferor court has already done so?
Yes. The section states that awarding costs by the transferor court does not preclude the assessment of costs by the clerk of the transferee court.
Amendment History
1977, c. 617; 1994, c. 32.
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
Also known as: virginia venue objection attorney feescosts for improper venue virginia8.01-266 explainedfrivolous motion to transfer venue virginia costsvirginia venue sanctions statute