State Court of General Jurisdiction that a Claim Involving an Intentional Tort would be brought in

State Court of General Jurisdiction that a Claim Involving an Intentional Tort would be brought in

            In Virginia (VA), the state courts that are the courts of general jurisdiction that claims involving intentional torts would be heard are the general district courts and the circuit courts. In this regard, Cleckley, Davis and Palmer Jr. (2015) assert that the civil cases are mainly brought with the objective of enforcing, redressing and protecting the various private rights of organizations, individuals and government entities. Amongst the notable remedies that are available in civil actions include the issuance of court orders calling on the defendant/party to the legal suit to either complete a contract or stop given activities, and recovery of monetary damages. As such, the plaintiff in the civil case is tasked with proving his case through the preponderance of available evidence.

Still, according to Va. Code 16.1-77, which relates to the jurisdiction of the state courts, in matters pertaining to the civil cases, the general district courts tend to have original jurisdiction in relation to cases that involves funds of $4500 and below, and this should be exclusive of the attorney’s fees and interests, with the exception of cases involving unlawful detainer actions. However, in relation to the unlawful detainer actions, Bryson (2017) maintains that the general district courts also have exclusive original jurisdiction in civil cases that involve amounts of $500 and below in relation to the less unlawful detainer actions that entail rent defaults. However, in unlawful detainer actions cases where there are no rent defaults, the general district courts do not possess the exclusive jurisdiction.

Furthermore, as noted earlier, the general district courts also have parallel jurisdiction with circuit courts particularly in civil cases that involve amounts above $4,500 and below $15,000. Nevertheless, it should be observed that the ceiling is not applicable to cases that involve liquidated damages derived from the infringements on the vehicle weight limits. On the other hand, civil cases that involve amounts that is more than $15,000 fall exclusively within the circuit courts’ jurisdiction (Cleckley, Davis & Palmer Jr., 2015). The extra circumstances under which the general district courts might have jurisdiction, regardless of if concurrent or exclusive with the circuit courts is set forth by the general district courts’ general civil jurisdiction statute. As such, any court has to have jurisdiction in relation to the action and the parties so as to hear a civil case.

How a civil action is commenced

With regards to the commencement of action, it can be noted that the civil action is brought into the city/county of the defendant’s residence or employment, which acts as the venue. Nevertheless, according to Va. Code 8.01-264, the venue is often not jurisdictional as a motion to transfer venue may be applied in curing a venue defect (Bryson, 2017).  This is immediately followed by actions that are commenced in the General District court through the filing of the warrant in debt. The warrant in debt is a form that offers a summary description of the action cause, as well as the amount being sought. Though no answer is required from the defendant, the warrant in debt set a date for the initial return hearing. This enables the counsel to appear on the First return Data and effectively agree on a trial date (Cleckley, Davis & Palmer Jr., 2015). Further, with regards to defense, it can be noted that even though the formal discovery is allowed, the civil case parties are permitted to issue subpoenas for the witnesses and documents returnable on the trial date.

The methods of service generally permitted by state law

The permitted methods of service require the sheriff within the district to serve the defendant with the process. The sheriff to serve the defendant with the process must be over 18 years of age and must not be party to or have interest in the case. In this regard, Va. Code 8.01-293 stipulates that only the sheriff is allowed to execute a writ or an order for possession of individual, mixed or real property, and that only a high constable, sheriff or treasurer is allowed to levy on property.

Upon the sheriff serving the defendant with the process, a fee of $12 is charged on the served processes, and other fees including notice publication fees will also be charged. Moreover, the sheriff is required to either visit or call the clerk’s office on a daily basis so as to receive the papers and processes to be served by him. The sheriff is not only permitted to serve process within his political subdivision but additionally in any contiguous county and city.

Applicable statute of limitations for an intentional tort

Regarding intentional tort, the applicable statutes of limitations are mainly applicable to fraud, defamation and slander (Cleckley, Davis & Palmer Jr., 2015). The applicable statute of limitation maintains that unless provided in the statute, all actions pertaining to personal injury regardless of the theory of recovery, and all actions for damages due to fraud have to be brought within a period of two years following the accrual of the cause of action. The two years statute of limitation commences running upon discovery of the alleged fraud.

State Court Structure

At the lowest end of the Virginia’s State Court Structure is the general District Court, which serves the Commonwealth throughout the 32 judicial districts. Additionally, the general district court has a limited jurisdiction to hear civil cases that involve amounts of up to $25,000, in addition to conducting trials for misdemeanor crimes and traffic infractions (Swisher, 2015). The General District Court is followed by the Circuit Court, which served the Commonwealth throughout the 31 judicial circuits, and is also the general jurisdiction trial court that has the power to hear and determine every kind of criminal and civil cases (Cleckley, Davis & Palmer Jr., 2015). Further, on top of the Circuit Court is the Court of Appeals of Virginia, which is also an intermediate appellate court that is tasked with the reviewing of the decisions made by the circuit court with regards to domestic relations issues, criminal cases with the exception of death penalty and traffic infractions. Lastly, at the top of the court structure is the Supreme Court of Virginia, which is the state’s court of last resort. The Supreme Court is tasked with reviewing the circuit court and the Court of Appeals’ decisions in instances where the appeals have been allowed, in addition to reviewing the decisions of the State Corporation Commission, and specific Virginia State Bar disciplinary actions meted on the attorneys (Swisher, 2015).