Public Law 24-108, passed at the conclusion of Connecticut‘s 2024 Legislative Session and signed into law by Governor Lamont on June 4, provides necessary legal clarity on where a business entity can file a lawsuit in State Court.
Under current law and new legislation, shares of a corporation generally can be returned to the judicial district where (1) the corporation has an office or place of business, (2) the defendant lives, if the defendant is a resident, (3) ) injury occurred, (4) the transaction occurred, or (5) the property is legally located or seized. Connecticut General Statistics. 51-345(c). However, current law does not make any specific provision for jurisdiction in actions brought by business entities that are not domestic or foreign “corporations.” Consequently, practitioners and courts had to assume that the corporate headquarters statute applied to other business entities.
Public Law 24-108 now makes clear that the same jurisdictional rules apply to actions brought by all “domestic business organizations,” including sole proprietorships, partnerships, limited liability companies, associations, firms, and other forms of business or legal entities. Public Law 24-108 at § 503.
The new legislation preserves venue choice by giving national business organizations with offices or places of business in certain cities the option to select from neighboring judicial districts. While many Connecticut professionals had long believed that the existing Connecticut Gen. Stat. venue selection rules. 51-345(a)(3) applied to both business organizations and individuals, some courts reassigned cases ex officio in situations where, for example, a Westport-based decided to sue in Bridgeport because the court read 51-345. (a)(3) applies only to individuals. The new statute now makes clear that businesses located in most of lower Fairfield County (including the cities of Darien, Greenwich, New Canaan, Norwalk, Stamford, Weston, Westport or Wilton) can choose to file in Stamford or Bridgeport.
Additionally, businesses in Avon, Canton, Farmington, Simsbury, Newington, Rocky Hill or Wethersfield can choose between Hartford and New Britain. The New Haven or Ansonia-Milford judicial districts are options for companies with a workplace in Bethany, Milford, West Haven or Woodbridge.
Selecting the right place to file a lawsuit can sometimes affect the handling of the case. It is now clear that an attorney bringing a contract or other claim on behalf of a Connecticut business in cities that lie between judicial districts may consider appropriateness, case backlog, judicial environment, reputation, and local practices when deciding. where to file the claim.
(See source.)
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