Venue, Whether Case Should be Transferred or Dismissed if Venue is Inappropriate

Except as indicated, all indented material is copied directly from the court’s opinion. 

Opinions of the Tennessee Supreme Court

Opinions of the Tennessee Court of Appeals

Washington v. Tony Parker as Commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Corrections, No. M2021-00583-COA-R3-CV, p. 5 (Tenn. Ct. App. May 9, 2022).

Tenn. Code Ann. § 16-1-116 provides that if a trial court lacks jurisdiction over a case, the trial court should transfer the action to the proper court “if it is in the interest of justice.” A trial court’s decision whether to transfer venue in a particular case is reviewed under an abuse of discretion standard. See Pack v. Ross, 288 S.W.3d 870, 874 (Tenn. Ct. App. 2008) (“[T]ransfers under Tenn. Code Ann. § 16-1-116 are discretionary.”); Turner v. State, 184 S.W.3d 701, 705 (Tenn. Ct. App. 2005) (holding that a transfer under section 16-1-116 is not automatic but requires the trial court to determine, “in its discretion, whether the transfer is warranted”). As previously stated, we will not substitute our judgment for that of the Trial Court. See Borne, 532 S.W.3d at 294. “A trial court abuses its discretion only when it applies an incorrect legal standard, or reaches a decision which is against logic or reasoning that causes an injustice to the party complaining.” Id. (internal quotation marks, brackets, and citations omitted).