Title 33, Chapter 4, Section 1
( 33-4-1)
Except for actions arising against unauthorized insurers or under
surplus line contracts which are provided for in Chapter 5 of this
title, whenever any person shall have a claim or demand on any
insurer, such person may bring an action in any of the following
places: (1) In the county where the principal office of the company is
located; (2) In any county where the company shall have an agent or place
of doing business; (3) In any county where such agent or place of doing business was
located at the time the cause of action accrued or the contract
was made out of which such cause of action arose; or (4) In any county where the property covered by an insurance
contract upon which an action is brought is located or where the
person entitled to the proceeds of an insurance contract upon
which action is brought maintains his legal residence. For the
purpose of this paragraph, personal property shall be deemed to be
located in the county of the legal residence of the owner of such
personal property, and, for the purpose of bringing an action
under this paragraph, a company which has written a contract of
insurance upon persons or property located in a particular county
or which has become surety for the performance of an obligation in
a particular county shall be deemed to be transacting business in
such county and shall be deemed to be a legal resident of such
county; provided, further, that any action on the bond of a
sheriff or other arresting or law enforcement officer or superior
court clerk or deputy clerk or clerk or deputy of any court of
record, upon which any guaranty or surety company or fidelity
insurance company is bound and obligated as surety, shall be
instituted in the county of the residence of the officer and not
in any other county; and the county of the residence of the
officer is hereby fixed as the venue of any action on such bond;
and the officer may be made a party defendant or may by
intervention become a party defendant. |