Dow Agrosciences LLC v. Superior Court of Alameda Cnty.

*1071 I. INTRODUCTION

This writ proceeding arises out of a dispute about the proper venue for trial of a cause of action for violating the California Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986, Health and Safety Code section 25249.5 et seq. (Proposition 65 or the Act).

Center for Environmental Health (CEH) filed a complaint in Alameda County alleging that Dow Agrosciences LLC (Dow) and other unnamed defendants are violating the Act by failing to warn individuals who live or work in the Kern County town of Shafter that a soil fumigant manufactured by Dow contains a chemical known to cause cancer. Dow responded to the complaint by filing a motion to transfer this case to Kern County, where the cause of action arose, pursuant to section 393, subdivision (a) of the Code of Civil Procedure ( section 393(a).) 1 The trial court denied *763 the motion, finding *1072 that venue is proper in any county under section 395, subdivision (a) (section 395(a)) because Dow is a nonresident defendant with no principal place of business in California.

Dow seeks extraordinary relief from the trial court order. "Pursuant to section 400, a party aggrieved by an order granting or denying a…