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HCS/HB 460 - In addition to current law regarding when plaintiffs and defendants may join in one civil action, this act states that in tort actions two or more plaintiffs may be joined in a single action only if each plaintiff can independently establish proper venue. Likewise, in cases where the plaintiff was injured outside of Missouri, two or more defendants may be joined in a single action only if the plaintiff can establish proper venue against each defendant individually. If in either situation proper venue cannot be established then the plaintiff or defendant will be deemed misjoined, the plaintiff or defendant will be severed from the action, and the claims shall be transferred to a county with proper venue. If there is no county in Missouri in which venue exists, then the claims shall be dismissed without prejudice. In cases where a plaintiff is seeking recovery for personal injury, wrongful death, or property damage under the terms of an insurance contract where the injury occurred in Missouri venue shall be where the injury occurred. In tort actions where one of the defendants is an employee of a corporation, venue for such individual shall be the same as the venue of the corporation. For the purposes of meeting the venue requirement, the residence of a domestic or foreign insurance company is the county where its registered office is maintained. If a foreign insurance company does not have a registered office in Missouri, then the residence of the foreign insurance company shall be Cole County. These provisions are similar to SB 258 (2017). Currently, a products liability order of dismissal for a defendant whose liability is based solely on his or her status as a seller shall not divest a court of venue or jurisdiction that was proper at the beginning of the action. Further, the defendant seller dismissed in the action shall remain a party to such action for venue and jurisdiction purposes. This act repeals these provisions. This provision is identical to SB 4 (2017), HB 459 (2017), provisions in SB 5 (2017), SB 258 (2017), SB 792 (2016), SB 793 (2016), and SB 487 (2015). JESSI BAKER
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