In Re Missouri Pacific Railroad Co.

These consolidated mandamus proceedings concern the mandatory venue statute 1 for suits brought under the Federal Employers’ Liability Act (FELA). 2 In each case the key issue is whether the plaintiff in the underlying lawsuit sued the corporate defendant in a county where it maintains “a principal office,” as defined in the venue statutes. 3 We conclude that the plaintiffs in all of the suits failed to prove that the corporate defendant has a principal office in the county of suit, so we direct the trial courts in Jefferson County 4 and Tarrant County 5 to transfer the cases to a proper…