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U.S. District Court

Most personal injury cases, such as automobile accidents, slip and falls, and falling merchandise cases, are tried in the state court system. However, many labor and employment and civil rights lawsuits are tried in the federal court system.

The District Court is the principal trial court in the federal court system. It is analogous to the Circuit Court in the state court system. Cases may be filed originally in the district court, or they can be “removed” from state court to this court.

A case may be removed to federal court only if the “amount in controversy” exceeds $75,000 and “diversity of citizenship” exists between the parties, or if a “federal question” is involved.

Diversity of citizenship means if the plaintiff and all defendants are citizens of different states, the defendant(s) may remove a case originally filed in state court to federal court. Corporations are “citizens” in two states - where they are incorporated, and where they have their principal place of business.

In personal injury cases, diversity of citizenship is most likely to occur in a premises liability case (slip and fall, falling merchandise, etc.) where a person is injured in a store, and the store’s headquarters and state of incorporation are in another state.

If an action arises under a federal law, the defendant may remove the case from state court to federal court. Personal injury lawsuits rarely involve federal questions.

Most labor and employment cases, and civil rights cases, are either filed in federal court or removed from state court to federal court. This is because these claims usually involve violation of federal laws.

The federal courts in Virginia are divided into the Eastern District and the Western District. The Eastern District of Virginia has four divisions: Richmond, Alexandria, Norfolk, and Newport News. The Western District of Virginia has seven divisions: Abingdon, Big Stone Gap, Charlottesville, Danville, Harrisonburg, Lynchburg, and Roanoke. Juries are drawn from the respective divisions.