Rule Text
In addition to the other counties in which an action may be brought against a nonresident of this state, an action where all defendants are nonresidents of the state may be brought in the county where the cause of action arose or in the county where the plaintiff or one of the plaintiffs resides. If one or more of the defendants is a resident of this state, the action shall be brought in any county where venue would be proper as to the resident defendant or one of the resident defendants if there are several.
Amendment history: Added by Laws 1963, c. 32, § 1. Amended by Laws 1965, c. 54, § 1, emerg. eff. March 29, 1965; Laws 1967, c. 228, § 1, emerg. eff. May 2, 1967; Laws 1972, c. 208, § 8, eff. Oct. 1, 1972; Laws 1984, c. 164, § 31, eff. Nov. 1, 1984.
Plain-English Summary (for reference only — not a substitute for the rule text above)
This summary is not the rule. The rule text controls.
If you want to sue someone who does not live in Oklahoma, this rule tells you where you are allowed to file your case. When every defendant in the lawsuit lives out of state, you can file the case in the county where the problem actually happened, or in the county where you (the person suing) live.
If at least one of the defendants does live in Oklahoma, the rules change. In that case, you must file the lawsuit in a county that would be proper for that Oklahoma resident. If there are several defendants who live in the state, you can pick any county that would work for one of them.
Basically, this rule makes sure people cannot be forced to defend a lawsuit in a random or unfair location. It ties the choice of county to either where the incident occurred, where the person suing lives, or where a resident defendant could properly be sued.
