{"formats":[{"name":"JSON","format":"json","url":"\/downloads\/2025\/code-json\/8.01-195.4.json"},{"name":"Plain Text","format":"text","url":"\/downloads\/2025\/code-text\/8.01-195.4.txt"},{"name":"XML","format":"xml","url":"\/downloads\/2025\/code-xml\/8.01-195.4.xml"},{"name":"HTML","format":"html","url":"\/downloads\/2025\/code-html\/8.01-195.4.html"}],"law_id":65418,"edition_id":1,"section_id":65418,"structure_id":14469,"section_number":"8.01-195.4","catch_line":"Jurisdiction of claims under this article; right to jury trial; service on Commonwealth or locality; amending amount of claim","history":"1981, c. 449; 1984, c. 698; 1986, c. 584; 1987, cc. 567, 674; 1989, cc. 121, 337; 1991, c. 23; 1992, cc. 111, 796; 2002, c. 645; 2005, c. 144; 2011, cc. 14, 702; 2019, c. 787; 2021, Sp. Sess. I, c. 199.","full_text":"The general district courts shall have exclusive original jurisdiction to hear, determine, and render judgment on any claim against the Commonwealth or any transportation district cognizable under this article when the amount of the claim does not exceed $4,500, exclusive of interest and any attorney fees. Jurisdiction shall be concurrent with the circuit courts when the amount of the claim exceeds $4,500 but does not exceed $50,000, exclusive of interest and such attorney fees. Jurisdiction of claims when the amount exceeds $50,000 shall be limited to the circuit courts of the Commonwealth. The parties to any such action in the circuit courts shall be entitled to a trial by jury.\n\t\tWhile a matter is pending in a general district court or a circuit court, upon motion of the plaintiff seeking to increase or decrease the amount of the claim, the court shall order transfer of the matter to the general district court or circuit court that has jurisdiction over the amended amount of the claim without requiring that the case first be dismissed or that the plaintiff suffer a nonsuit, and the tolling of the applicable statutes of limitations governing the pending matter shall be unaffected by the transfer. Where such a matter is pending, if the plaintiff is seeking to increase or decrease the amount of the claim to an amount wherein the general district court and the circuit court would have concurrent jurisdiction, the court shall transfer the matter to either the general district court or the circuit court, as directed by the plaintiff, provided that such court otherwise has jurisdiction over the matter. Except for good cause shown, no such order of transfer shall issue unless the motion to amend and transfer is made at least 10 days before trial. The plaintiff shall pay filing and other fees as otherwise provided by law to the clerk of the court to which the case is transferred, and such clerk shall process the claim as if it were a new civil action. The plaintiff shall prepare and present the order of transfer to the transferring court for entry, after which time the case shall be removed from the pending docket of the transferring court and the order of transfer placed among its records. The plaintiff shall provide a certified copy of the transfer order to the receiving court.\n\t\tIn all actions against the Commonwealth commenced pursuant to this article, the Commonwealth shall be a proper party defendant, and service of process shall be made on the Attorney General. The notice of claim shall be filed pursuant to \u00a7 8.01-195.6 on the Director of the Division of Risk Management or the Attorney General. In all such actions against a transportation district, the district shall be a proper party and service of process and notices shall be made on the chairman of the commission of the transportation district.","order_by":null,"text":{"0":{"id":237826,"text":"The general district courts shall have exclusive original jurisdiction to hear, determine, and render judgment on any claim against the Commonwealth or any transportation district cognizable under this article when the amount of the claim does not exceed $4,500, exclusive of interest and any attorney fees. Jurisdiction shall be concurrent with the circuit courts when the amount of the claim exceeds $4,500 but does not exceed $50,000, exclusive of interest and such attorney fees. Jurisdiction of claims when the amount exceeds $50,000 shall be limited to the circuit courts of the Commonwealth. The parties to any such action in the circuit courts shall be entitled to a trial by jury.\n\t\tWhile a matter is pending in a general district court or a circuit court, upon motion of the plaintiff seeking to increase or decrease the amount of the claim, the court shall order transfer of the matter to the general district court or circuit court that has jurisdiction over the amended amount of the claim without requiring that the case first be dismissed or that the plaintiff suffer a nonsuit, and the tolling of the applicable statutes of limitations governing the pending matter shall be unaffected by the transfer. Where such a matter is pending, if the plaintiff is seeking to increase or decrease the amount of the claim to an amount wherein the general district court and the circuit court would have concurrent jurisdiction, the court shall transfer the matter to either the general district court or the circuit court, as directed by the plaintiff, provided that such court otherwise has jurisdiction over the matter. Except for good cause shown, no such order of transfer shall issue unless the motion to amend and transfer is made at least 10 days before trial. The plaintiff shall pay filing and other fees as otherwise provided by law to the clerk of the court to which the case is transferred, and such clerk shall process the claim as if it were a new civil action. The plaintiff shall prepare and present the order of transfer to the transferring court for entry, after which time the case shall be removed from the pending docket of the transferring court and the order of transfer placed among its records. The plaintiff shall provide a certified copy of the transfer order to the receiving court.\n\t\tIn all actions against the Commonwealth commenced pursuant to this article, the Commonwealth shall be a proper party defendant, and service of process shall be made on the Attorney General. The notice of claim shall be filed pursuant to \u00a7 8.01-195.6 on the Director of the Division of Risk Management or the Attorney General. In all such actions against a transportation district, the district shall be a proper party and service of process and notices shall be made on the chairman of the commission of the transportation district.","type":"section","prefixes":[""],"prefix":"","entire_prefix":"","prefix_anchor":"","level":1}},"ancestry":[{"id":14469,"edition_id":1,"name":"Tort Claims Against the Commonwealth of Virginia","identifier":"18.1","label":"article","depth":3,"order_by":1,"parent_id":12886,"metadata":{},"date_created":"2026-06-26 03:48:14","date_modified":"2026-06-26 03:48:14","permalink":{"id":280153,"object_type":"structure","relational_id":14469,"identifier":"18.1","token":"8.01\/3\/18.1","url":"\/8.01\/3\/18.1\/","edition_id":1,"permalink":0,"preferred":1}},{"id":12886,"edition_id":1,"name":"Actions","identifier":"3","label":"chapter","depth":2,"order_by":1,"parent_id":12747,"metadata":{},"date_created":"2026-06-26 03:43:59","date_modified":"2026-06-26 03:43:59","permalink":{"id":279635,"object_type":"structure","relational_id":12886,"identifier":"3","token":"8.01\/3","url":"\/8.01\/3\/","edition_id":1,"permalink":0,"preferred":1}},{"id":12747,"edition_id":1,"name":"Civil Remedies and Procedure","identifier":"8.01","label":"title","depth":1,"order_by":1,"parent_id":null,"metadata":{},"date_created":"2026-06-26 03:43:51","date_modified":"2026-06-26 03:43:51","permalink":{"id":277029,"object_type":"structure","relational_id":12747,"identifier":"8.01","token":"8.01","url":"\/8.01\/","edition_id":1,"permalink":0,"preferred":1}}],"structure_contents":[{"id":86997,"structure_id":14469,"section_number":"8.01-195.1","catch_line":"Short title","url":"\/8.01-195.1\/","token":"8.01\/3\/18.1\/8.01-195.1","metadata":false},{"id":86308,"structure_id":14469,"section_number":"8.01-195.2","catch_line":"Definitions","url":"\/8.01-195.2\/","token":"8.01\/3\/18.1\/8.01-195.2","metadata":false},{"id":56248,"structure_id":14469,"section_number":"8.01-195.3","catch_line":"Commonwealth, transportation district or locality liable for damages in certain cases","url":"\/8.01-195.3\/","token":"8.01\/3\/18.1\/8.01-195.3","metadata":false},{"id":65418,"structure_id":14469,"section_number":"8.01-195.4","catch_line":"Jurisdiction of claims under this article; right to jury trial; service on Commonwealth or locality; amending amount of claim","url":"\/8.01-195.4\/","token":"8.01\/3\/18.1\/8.01-195.4","metadata":false},{"id":69702,"structure_id":14469,"section_number":"8.01-195.5","catch_line":"Settlement of certain cases","url":"\/8.01-195.5\/","token":"8.01\/3\/18.1\/8.01-195.5","metadata":false},{"id":87294,"structure_id":14469,"section_number":"8.01-195.6","catch_line":"Notice of claim","url":"\/8.01-195.6\/","token":"8.01\/3\/18.1\/8.01-195.6","metadata":false},{"id":69511,"structure_id":14469,"section_number":"8.01-195.7","catch_line":"Statute of limitations","url":"\/8.01-195.7\/","token":"8.01\/3\/18.1\/8.01-195.7","metadata":false},{"id":72570,"structure_id":14469,"section_number":"8.01-195.8","catch_line":"Release of further claims","url":"\/8.01-195.8\/","token":"8.01\/3\/18.1\/8.01-195.8","metadata":false},{"id":55852,"structure_id":14469,"section_number":"8.01-195.9","catch_line":"Claims evaluation program","url":"\/8.01-195.9\/","token":"8.01\/3\/18.1\/8.01-195.9","metadata":false}],"previous_section":{"id":56248,"structure_id":14469,"section_number":"8.01-195.3","catch_line":"Commonwealth, transportation district or locality liable for damages in certain cases","url":"\/8.01-195.3\/","token":"8.01\/3\/18.1\/8.01-195.3","metadata":false},"next_section":{"id":69702,"structure_id":14469,"section_number":"8.01-195.5","catch_line":"Settlement of certain cases","url":"\/8.01-195.5\/","token":"8.01\/3\/18.1\/8.01-195.5","metadata":false},"metadata":false,"official_url":"https:\/\/law.lis.virginia.gov\/vacode\/8.01-195.4\/","history_text":"

This law was first created in 1981. The record of its establishment is cataloged in chapter 449 of that year\u2019s edition of \u201cActs of Assembly,\u201d the annual state publication listing all changes made to the Code of Virginia in that year. Unfortunately, the 1981 \u201cActs\u201d aren\u2019t available online. It has been modified 10 times. Those modifications are cataloged by \u201cThe Acts of Assembly,\u201d a state publication, by year and chapter. Those modifications that can be read on the General Assembly\u2019s website will be linked accordingly. Those modifications are as follows: in 1984, chapter 698; in 1986, chapter 584; in 1987, chapters 567 and 674; in 1989, chapters 121 and 337; in 1991, chapter 23; in 1992, chapters 111 and 796; in 2002, chapter 645<\/a>; in 2005, chapter 144<\/a>; in 2011, chapters 14<\/a> and 702<\/a>; in 2019, chapter 787<\/a>.<\/p>","references":[{"id":69511,"section_number":"8.01-195.7","catch_line":"Statute of limitations","order_by":null,"url":"\/8.01-195.7\/"},{"id":86879,"section_number":"8.01-264","catch_line":"Venue improperly laid; objection","order_by":null,"url":"\/8.01-264\/"},{"id":76737,"section_number":"8.01-265","catch_line":"Change of venue by court","order_by":null,"url":"\/8.01-265\/"}],"refers_to":[{"id":87294,"section_number":"8.01-195.6","catch_line":"Notice of claim","order_by":null,"url":"\/8.01-195.6\/"}],"permalink":{"id":280167,"object_type":"law","relational_id":65418,"identifier":"8.01-195.4","token":"8.01\/3\/18.1\/8.01-195.4","url":"\/8.01-195.4\/","edition_id":1,"permalink":0,"preferred":1},"url":"\/8.01-195.4\/","token":"8.01\/3\/18.1\/8.01-195.4","dublin_core":{"Title":"Jurisdiction of claims under this article; right to jury trial; service on Commonwealth or locality; amending amount of claim","Type":"Text","Format":"text\/html","Identifier":"\u00a7 8.01-195.4","Relation":"Code of Virginia"},"html":"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

The general district courts<\/span> shall have exclusive original jurisdiction<\/span> to hear, determine, and render judgment<\/span> on any claim against the Commonwealth or any transportation district cognizable under this article when the amount of the claim does not exceed $4,500, exclusive of interest and any attorney fees. Jurisdiction shall be concurrent with the circuit<\/span> courts<\/span> when the amount of the claim exceeds $4,500 but does not exceed $50,000, exclusive of interest and such attorney fees. Jurisdiction of claims when the amount exceeds $50,000 shall be limited to the circuit<\/span> courts<\/span> of the Commonwealth. The parties to any such action in the circuit<\/span> courts<\/span> shall be entitled to a trial<\/span> by jury<\/span>.\n\t\tWhile a matter is pending in a general district court<\/span> or a circuit<\/span> court<\/span>, upon motion<\/span> of the plaintiff<\/span> seeking to increase or decrease the amount of the claim, the court<\/span> shall order<\/span> transfer of the matter to the general district court<\/span> or circuit<\/span> court<\/span> that has jurisdiction over the amended amount of the claim without requiring that the case first be dismissed or that the plaintiff<\/span> suffer a nonsuit<\/span>, and the tolling of the applicable statutes<\/span> of limitations governing the pending matter shall be unaffected by the transfer. Where such a matter is pending, if the plaintiff<\/span> is seeking to increase or decrease the amount of the claim to an amount wherein the general district court<\/span> and the circuit<\/span> court<\/span> would have concurrent jurisdiction, the court<\/span> shall transfer the matter to either the general district court<\/span> or the circuit<\/span> court<\/span>, as directed by the plaintiff<\/span>, provided that such court<\/span> otherwise has jurisdiction over the matter. Except for good cause shown, no such order<\/span> of transfer shall issue<\/span> unless the motion<\/span> to amend<\/span> and transfer is made at least 10 days before trial<\/span>. The plaintiff<\/span> shall pay filing and other fees as otherwise provided by law<\/span> to the clerk of the court<\/span> to which the case is transferred, and such clerk shall process the claim as if it were a new civil action<\/span>. The plaintiff<\/span> shall prepare and present the order<\/span> of transfer to the transferring court<\/span> for entry, after which time the case shall be removed from the pending docket<\/span> of the transferring court<\/span> and the order<\/span> of transfer placed among its records. The plaintiff<\/span> shall provide a certified copy of the transfer order<\/span> to the receiving court<\/span>.\n\t\tIn all actions<\/span> against the Commonwealth commenced pursuant to this article, the Commonwealth shall be a proper party<\/span> defendant<\/span>, and service of process<\/span> shall be made on the Attorney General<\/span>. The notice of claim shall be filed pursuant to \u00a7 8.01-195.6<\/a> on the Director of the Division of Risk Management or the Attorney General<\/span>. In all such actions<\/span> against a transportation district, the district shall be a proper party<\/span> and service of process<\/span> and notices shall be made on the chairman of the commission of the transportation district.<\/p><\/section>","plain_text":" CODE OF VIRGINIA\n\nJURISDICTION OF CLAIMS UNDER THIS ARTICLE; RIGHT TO JURY TRIAL; SERVICE ON\nCOMMONWEALTH OR LOCALITY; AMENDING AMOUNT OF CLAIM (\u00a7 8.01-195.4)\n\nThe general district courts shall have exclusive original jurisdiction to hear,\ndetermine, and render judgment on any claim against the Commonwealth or any\ntransportation district cognizable under this article when the amount of the\nclaim does not exceed $4,500, exclusive of interest and any attorney fees.\nJurisdiction shall be concurrent with the circuit courts when the amount of the\nclaim exceeds $4,500 but does not exceed $50,000, exclusive of interest and such\nattorney fees. Jurisdiction of claims when the amount exceeds $50,000 shall be\nlimited to the circuit courts of the Commonwealth. The parties to any such\naction in the circuit courts shall be entitled to a trial by jury.\n\t\tWhile a matter is pending in a general district court or a circuit court, upon\nmotion of the plaintiff seeking to increase or decrease the amount of the claim,\nthe court shall order transfer of the matter to the general district court or\ncircuit court that has jurisdiction over the amended amount of the claim without\nrequiring that the case first be dismissed or that the plaintiff suffer a\nnonsuit, and the tolling of the applicable statutes of limitations governing the\npending matter shall be unaffected by the transfer. Where such a matter is\npending, if the plaintiff is seeking to increase or decrease the amount of the\nclaim to an amount wherein the general district court and the circuit court\nwould have concurrent jurisdiction, the court shall transfer the matter to\neither the general district court or the circuit court, as directed by the\nplaintiff, provided that such court otherwise has jurisdiction over the matter.\nExcept for good cause shown, no such order of transfer shall issue unless the\nmotion to amend and transfer is made at least 10 days before trial. The\nplaintiff shall pay filing and other fees as otherwise provided by law to the\nclerk of the court to which the case is transferred, and such clerk shall\nprocess the claim as if it were a new civil action. The plaintiff shall prepare\nand present the order of transfer to the transferring court for entry, after\nwhich time the case shall be removed from the pending docket of the transferring\ncourt and the order of transfer placed among its records. The plaintiff shall\nprovide a certified copy of the transfer order to the receiving court.\n\t\tIn all actions against the Commonwealth commenced pursuant to this article,\nthe Commonwealth shall be a proper party defendant, and service of process shall\nbe made on the Attorney General. The notice of claim shall be filed pursuant to\n\u00a7 8.01-195.6 on the Director of the Division of Risk Management or the Attorney\nGeneral. In all such actions against a transportation district, the district\nshall be a proper party and service of process and notices shall be made on the\nchairman of the commission of the transportation district.\n\nHISTORY: 1981, c. 449; 1984, c. 698; 1986, c. 584; 1987, cc. 567, 674; 1989, cc.\n121, 337; 1991, c. 23; 1992, cc. 111, 796; 2002, c. 645; 2005, c. 144; 2011, cc.\n14, 702; 2019, c. 787; 2021, Sp. Sess. I, c. 199.","edition":{"id":1,"name":"2025","slug":"2025","date_created":"2026-06-21 22:39:22","date_modified":"2026-06-21 22:39:22","current":1,"order_by":1,"last_import":null}}