Local Rule 82.1: Venue of Actions within the District
S.D. Ohio — Civil rule
82.1 Venue of Actions within the District
(a) Scope of this Rule. The filing of actions properly venued within this District shall be governed by the following rules, subject to the jurisdictional and venue requirements of all statutes, both general and specific.
(b) Location of Court. For venue purposes, the area served by each location of Court consists of the following counties:
Eastern Division: Columbus: Athens, Belmont, Coshocton, Delaware, Fairfield, Fayette, Franklin, Gallia, Guernsey, Harrison, Hocking, Jackson, Jefferson, Knox, Licking, Logan, Madison, Meigs, Monroe, Morgan, Morrow, Muskingum, Noble, Perry, Pickaway, Pike, Ross, Union, Vinton, and Washington.
Eastern Division: Steubenville: The Jury Plan of the District provides that a District Judge may try a case in the Eastern Division in Steubenville or any other location in the counties of Belmont, Guernsey, Jefferson, Harrison, Monroe, Morgan, Noble, or Washington, with prospective jurors to be drawn from the aforementioned eight counties.
Western Division: Cincinnati: Adams, Brown, Butler, Clermont, Clinton, Hamilton, Highland, Lawrence, Scioto, and Warren.
Western Division: Dayton: Champaign, Clark, Darke, Greene, Miami, Montgomery, Preble, and Shelby.
(c) Resident Defendant(s). An action against a defendant or defendants resident in this District shall be filed at the location of Court that serves a county in which at least one defendant resides.
(d) Corporate Residence, Venue When Indeterminate. A corporation that is deemed to reside in this District pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1391(c) is further deemed to reside in that county in which its principal place of business within the District is located, or, if none, in that county with which it has the most significant contacts. If such a corporation's county of residence cannot be determined under this Rule, an action against such corporation shall be filed at a location of Court determined in accordance with the following Rules, in order of preference: (1) a county in which a substantial part of the events or omissions giving rise to the claim occurred or a substantial part of the property that is the subject to the action is located; or (2) any location of Court.
(e) Nonresident Defendant(s). If no defendant is a resident of this District, an action shall be filed at the location of Court serving a county in which a substantial part of the events or omissions giving rise to the claim occurred or a substantial part of the property that is the subject of the action is located.
(f) Habeas Corpus Actions. A habeas corpus action shall be filed at the location of Court that serves the county in which the state-court judgment that is the subject of the habeas petition was filed.