elliebean said:
I am being taken to small claims court in DC but I live in Maryland and the incident took place in MD so that should be grounds for lack of jurisdiction, correct?
Nope. First, your issue is NOT jurisdiction, but venue.
And venue can be established by LOTS of things. You need to file a motion to dismiss due to lack of venue stipulating why you think the court does not have jurisdiction over the matter. The court can then either rule ex parte on your motion.... or schedule a hearing where both parties can present their jurisdiction arguments.
venue
n. 1) the proper or most convenient location for trial of a case. Normally, the venue in a criminal case is the judicial district or county where the crime was committed. For civil cases, venue is usually the district or county which is the residence of a principal defendant, where a contract was executed or is to be performed, or where an accident took place. However, the parties may agree to a different venue for convenience (such as where most witnesses are located). Sometimes a lawsuit is filed in a district or county which is not the proper venue, and if the defendant promptly objects (asks for a change of venue), the court will order transfer of the case to the proper venue.