Here, a district attorney filed a suit in the name of the People of the State of California against Gamestop under the UCL for violations of the Second Hand Dealer’s Law.  This decision holds that Gamestop is not entitled to transfer the action to a neutral county under CCP 394(a) which requires transfer to a neutral county on request of either party if a local agency is a party to the action.  A suit in the name of the People is a suit by the state, not a local agency, and so is not subject to CCP 394(a) even when it is the district attorney who prosecutes the action as attorney for the People.  District attorneys’ jurisdiction is limited to their county, but they are state officials, and furthermore, the real party in interest is the People, not the People’s attorney.

California Court of Appeal, Fourth District, Division 2 (Ramirez, P.J.); August 22, 2018; 26 Cal. App. 5th 502