§ 402.Location Specified By Local Rule of Superior Court
Title 4. Of the Place of Trial, Reclassification, and Coordination of Civil Actions · Chapter 1. Place of Trial · Enacted 2002 · no amendments on record · Last verified July 28, 2026
Full Text of § 402
Plain-English Summary
Large counties often run more than one courthouse. § 402(a) lets a superior court specify by local rule which locations handle filing, and which handle hearings or trials, for certain types of cases. But the fix for a case filed at the wrong location is a transfer, not a dismissal: the court may not dismiss the case, and the clerk may not reject the filing, solely because it went to the wrong in-county location -- though the court may transfer it on its own motion.
Subdivision (b) confirms the court may also transfer a case between its own locations, without disturbing the presiding judge's separate authority to apportion the court's business under the California Rules of Court.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can my case be thrown out for filing at the wrong courthouse within the same county?
No -- § 402 lets the court transfer it to the correct location, but bars dismissing the case or rejecting the filing on that basis alone.
Does this section deal with which county to sue in?
No -- it governs which courthouse location within a single superior court handles a case, a different question from the county-level venue rules elsewhere in this title.
Amendment History
Added by Stats 2002 ch 806 (AB 3027),s 12, eff. 1/1/2003.