Rule Text
(a) General Rule. Except as otherwise provided by subdivision (b) of this rule, an action against an association may be brought in and only in a county where
(1) the association regularly conducts business or any association activity;
(2) the cause of action arose;
(3) a transaction or occurrence took place out of which the cause of action arose; or
(4) the property or a part of the property, which is the subject matter of the action, is located provided that equitable relief is sought with respect to the property.
(b) Exception. Subdivision (a) of this rule shall not restrict or affect the venue of an action
(1) against an association commenced by or for the attachment, seizure, garnishment, sequestration, or condemnation of real or personal property; or
(2) for the recovery of the possession of or the determination of the title to real or personal property.
Amendment history: The provisions of this Rule 2156 adopted May 1, 1939, effective November 6, 1939; amended April 18, 1975, effective immediately, 5 Pa.B. 1820; amended January 27, 2003, effective immediately, 33 Pa.B. 571; amended December 16, 2003, effective July 1, 2004, 34 Pa.B. 9; amended August 25, 2022, effective January 1, 2023, 52 Pa.B. 5792; amended February 18, 2026, effective immediately, 56 Pa.B. 1106. Immediately preceding text appears at serial pages (411434) to (411435).
Plain-English Summary (for reference only — not a substitute for the rule text above)
This summary is not the rule. The rule text controls.
When you sue an unincorporated association (like a club, union, or informal group), you can only file your lawsuit in certain counties. You can file where the group regularly does business or holds activities, where the problem that caused the lawsuit happened, or where any property involved in the case is located (if you are asking the court for something related to that property).
There are two exceptions to these location rules. If your case involves seizing, attaching, or condemning property, or if you are trying to get back property or settle who owns it, the normal location rules do not apply. In those situations, you have more flexibility in choosing where to file.
Committee Notes
By Order of August 25, 2022, effective January 1, 2023 (‘‘2022 amendments’’), the Court rescinded Rule 1006(a.1), a special venue rule that applied to medical professional liability actions filed on or after January 1, 2002. Corresponding amendments removed references to Rule 1006(a.1) from Rule 2130, governing venue in an action against a partnership, Rule 2156, governing venue in an action against an unincorporated association, and Rule 2179, governing venue in an action against a corporation or similar entity. The 2022 amendments thus returned Rules 1006, 2130, 2156, and 2179 to their pre-2003 versions, pursuant to which medical professionals were again governed by the same venue rules applicable to other non-governmental defendants.
The 2022 amendments added a provision to each rule requiring the Civil Procedural Rules Committee to ‘‘reexamine the 2022 rule amendments two years after their effective date.’’ Rules 1006(g), 2130(d), 2156(c), and 2179(c). The committee received commentary on behalf of medical professionals asserting that the impact of the 2022 amendments could not yet be determined, and that more time was needed to develop the necessary data. By Order of February 18, 2026, the Court amended Rules 1006, 2130, 2156, and 2179 to remove the expired reexamination provisions. The Court will consider any future proposals as submitted through the Court’s usual rules committee processes.
