How Do I File to Change Venue in Illinois?

Full question:

i was served papers about a credit card lease that was falsely presented to me in 2007, the paper says they will go to court in Cook county, by reading blogs this is what they say 'They have to sue you in the county in which you live in--but they don't always follow the rules. So when you get served, you will need to submit a 'Motion to Change Venue' to the IL court they filed the action in. You will allege in that motion that the IL court has no personal jurisdiction over you because you live in FL . If you do not file this motion once you are served, then you will waive the jurisdiction and the IL court will have authority over you. My question is how do I do this and can i send a form?and i need to do ASAP as I was served 2/18/10,and the supposedly PAPER says the return date is March 11th.. I am sure they are just trying to scare me but this is probably going to happen 'court wise' cause they actually served me.

• Category: Venue
• Date: 04/07/2025
• State: Florida

Answer:

Venue is the local area in which a court, that has jurisdiction, may try a case. Jurisdiction is the geographical area within which a court has the right and power to operate. A court system may have jurisdiction to take a case in a wide geographical area, but the proper venue for the case may be one place within that area for the convenience of the parties. Jurisdiction is subject to fixed rules; however, venue is often left to the discretion of the judge.

Venue is the legally proper or most convenient place where a particular case should be filed or handled. Every state has rules determining the proper venue for different types of lawsuits. Normally, the venue in a criminal case is the judicial district or county where the crime was committed. The state, county or district in which a lawsuit is filed or a hearing or trial in that action is conducted is called the forum. For various reasons either party to a lawsuit or prosecution may move (ask) for a change of venue, which is up to the discretion of a judge in the court where the case or prosecution was originally filed. Reasons for such a request may include a clause in a contract stating that any action must be brought in a certain other venue, or pretrial publicity may be claimed to have tainted the potential jurors in that venue from rendering an impartial judgment.

In personam jurisdiction is obtained when the respondent/ defendant is properly served with a summons and complaint either by certified mail, by personal service, or by publication (only rarely used and only when the address of the respondent/defendant is unknown).

In order to serve a defendant with the state's long arm statute, the defendant must have minimum contacts with the state. Minimum contacts can consist of either some type of systematic and continuous contact with the forum ("general jurisdiction"), or isolated or occasional contacts purposefully directed toward the forum ("specific jurisdiction"). A single contact can suffice to establish personal jurisdiction, but where jurisdiction is based on a single contact, the nature and quality of the contact is determinative. The principal test of foreseeability in a due process analysis "is that the defendant's conduct and connection with the forum state are such that he should reasonably anticipate the possibility of defending a suit in the forum. Ownership of property in the state may satisfy this requirement.

You should be able to file your pleadings by mail. A certificate of service must be attached to show that a copy was delivered to the other party. Retain a copy for yourself. I suggest contacting the clerk of court to inquire about applicable procedures, such as the number of copies needed and applicable fees. Please see the following contact information:

http://www.cookcountyclerkofcourt.org/?section=ContactUSPage

See also:

http://www.cookcountyclerkofcourt.org/?section=PROSEPage&PROSEPage=Lawsuits