§ 8.01-276.Demurrer to evidence and plea in abatement abolished; motion to strike evidence and written motion, respectively, to be used in lieu thereof.

Section 8.01-276 retires two more pieces of old common-law and equity terminology, replacing each with a plainer procedural tool. The demurrer to the evidence, a device for testing whether the evidence presented at trial legally supports a verdict, is abolished; anything it used to reach is now handled through a motion to strike the evidence.

The plea in abatement, the traditional vehicle for defenses like improper venue, misjoinder, or lack of capacity to sue, is likewise abolished. In its place, any defense formerly raised by plea in abatement can be made by a written motion that specifically states the relief demanded and the grounds for it. That motion generally has to be made within the time the Rules of the Supreme Court prescribe, except when the ground is the court’s lack of jurisdiction over an indispensable party or over the subject matter, which are not subject to that same deadline.

When the motion challenges venue specifically, the statute adds a requirement with teeth: the movant must state why venue is improperly laid and identify what place or places within Virginia would be the proper venue for the action, rather than merely asserting that the chosen forum is wrong.