Where Can You Sue an Out-of-State Defendant in Georgia?
On this page
When the person or company that injured you is located outside Georgia, two threshold questions arise before the case can even proceed: can a Georgia court exercise authority over that defendant, and in which county should the case be filed? These are the questions of jurisdiction and venue. This guide explains where a case can be filed, long-arm jurisdiction over out-of-state defendants, forum selection issues, and transfer and removal.
Where a Case Can Be Filed (Venue)
Venue refers to the particular court, in Georgia, the county, where a case is properly filed. Georgia’s constitution and statutes set venue rules, and the general principle is that a case is brought where the defendant resides. For an individual Georgia defendant, that typically means the county of the defendant’s residence.
The rules adjust when there are multiple defendants. Under Georgia’s venue provisions, where there are joint defendants, such as joint tortfeasors, residing in different counties, the case can generally be brought in a county where any one of them resides, with the others subject to suit there as well. Special rules apply to corporations and to cases involving nonresidents. The practical point is that venue determines the county, and identifying the proper county depends on who the defendants are and where they reside, which becomes more complex when an out-of-state defendant is involved.
Long-Arm Jurisdiction Over Out-of-State Defendants
Before venue even matters, a Georgia court must have personal jurisdiction over the defendant, the authority to require that defendant to answer in Georgia. For out-of-state defendants, this is governed by Georgia’s long-arm statute, O.C.G.A. § 9-10-91, which sets out the circumstances under which a Georgia court can reach a nonresident.
The long-arm statute allows jurisdiction over a nonresident who, among other things, transacts business in Georgia, commits a tortious act within Georgia, or commits a tortious act outside Georgia that causes injury within Georgia under specified conditions (such as regularly doing or soliciting business in the state), or who owns property in Georgia. Georgia courts apply a framework asking whether the nonresident purposefully did some act connecting them to Georgia, whether the plaintiff’s claim arises from that activity, and whether exercising jurisdiction would be reasonable. A nonresident whose out-of-state conduct had no real Georgia connection or in-state consequences generally cannot be sued here. This jurisdictional analysis is the first hurdle in any case against an out-of-state defendant.
Forum Selection Issues
Beyond the baseline jurisdiction and venue rules, several forum-related issues can arise. Sometimes more than one forum is potentially proper, raising the question of where the case is best brought. The presence of both resident and nonresident defendants, or conduct spanning multiple states, can make the choice of forum consequential, affecting which court’s procedures apply and where the litigation is centered.
Contracts can also affect the forum through forum-selection clauses, provisions in which parties agree in advance where disputes will be litigated, though these arise more in contract-related disputes than in typical injury cases. In personal injury matters, the more common questions are whether Georgia is a proper and convenient forum given where the parties and events are located, and whether jurisdiction over the out-of-state defendant can be established under the long-arm statute. Where the crash happened, where the defendant does business, and where witnesses and records are located all feed these determinations, and they can shape the entire course of a case.
Transfer and Removal
Two mechanisms can move a case from where it was filed. Within the state court system, a case filed in an improper county may be subject to transfer to a proper venue rather than dismissal, so a venue error is not necessarily fatal. The rules govern how and when such transfers occur.
Separately, a case filed in Georgia state court may sometimes be removed to federal court by the defendant. Removal is generally available when the case could have been brought in federal court in the first place, most commonly where there is diversity of citizenship (the parties are from different states and the amount in controversy exceeds the federal threshold) or where the claim raises a federal question. For an out-of-state defendant, removal to federal court can be a significant strategic option, changing the court, the jury pool, and some procedural rules. Because jurisdiction, venue, transfer, and removal all interact, and because they turn on the specific facts of who the parties are and where the relevant events occurred, the forum questions in a case against an out-of-state defendant are best sorted out at the outset.
Key Takeaways
- Venue (the proper county) is generally based on where the defendant resides, with special rules for multiple defendants and corporations.
- A Georgia court must have personal jurisdiction over an out-of-state defendant under the long-arm statute (O.C.G.A. § 9-10-91), which requires a real connection to Georgia such as transacting business or causing in-state injury.
- Forum questions can arise when multiple forums are proper or when parties and events span states; these are fact-specific and consequential.
- A misfiled case may be transferred to a proper county rather than dismissed, and an out-of-state defendant may be able to remove a case to federal court (often based on diversity of citizenship).
This article provides general information about Georgia law and is not legal advice. Statutes and court decisions change, and how the law applies depends on the specific facts of a situation. For advice about a particular matter, consult a licensed Georgia attorney.