S.B. 123 Enrolled

VENUE FOR CONSUMER TRANSACTIONS
2002 GENERAL SESSION
STATE OF UTAH
Sponsor: John L. Valentine
This act enacts a provision within the Judicial Code pertaining to written contracts within
consumer transactions. It provides guidelines for where an action to enforce contract actions
may be brought depending on whether or not it pertains to real property. This act takes
effect immediately.
This act affects sections of Utah Code Annotated 1953 as follows:
REPEALS AND REENACTS:
78-13-4, as last amended by Chapter 194, Laws of Utah 1990
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
Section 1. Section 78-13-4 is repealed and reenacted to read:
78-13-4. Actions on written contracts.
When the defendant has signed a contract in the state to perform an obligation, an action
on the contract may be commenced and tried in the following venues:
(1) If the action is to enforce an interest in real property securing a consumer's obligation,
the action may be brought only in the county where the real property is located or where the
defendant resides.
(2) An action to enforce an interest other than under Subsection (1) may be brought in the
county where such obligation is to be performed, the contract was signed, or in which the
defendant resides.
Section 2. Effective date.
If approved by two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, this act takes effect
upon approval by the governor, or the day following the constitutional time limit of Utah
Constitution Article VII, Section 8, without the governor's signature, or in the case of a veto, the
date of veto override.