Massachusetts General Laws ch. 246 sec. 3 – Change of venue
Section 3. If, in an action in the supreme judicial or superior court in which trustee process is used in connection with the commencement thereof, the court finds that the trustee was made a party in order to give the court jurisdiction of the action in the county where the trustee dwells or has a usual place of business, and that neither the plaintiff nor the principal defendant dwells or has a usual place of business therein, it may, upon motion of the defendant at any time before trial, order the action and all papers relating thereto transferred to a county where some one of the principal parties dwells or has a usual place of business, upon terms. The action shall thereupon be entered and prosecuted in the same court for that county as if originally brought therein, and all prior proceedings otherwise regularly taken shall thereafter be valid.
Terms Used In Massachusetts General Laws ch. 246 sec. 3
- Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
- Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
- Plaintiff: The person who files the complaint in a civil lawsuit.
- Trial: A hearing that takes place when the defendant pleads "not guilty" and witnesses are required to come to court to give evidence.
- Trustee: A person or institution holding and administering property in trust.