If I leased an apartment in Texas but signed the papers in CA and faxed them to the apartment in Texas, when or where does the lease become legally binding? If I need to take them to small claims court could I do so in CA since the lease was signed in CA?
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The lease probably has a term defining venue. A CA court, even if it had constitutional authority to exercise jurisdiction would probably decline to do so under the doctrine of forum non conveniens unless the defendant was a CA based business. – ohwilleke Nov 11 '16 at 0:32
When you communicated your acceptance of the terms; that is, when the fax transmission was complete.
The lease will be subject to Texas law: you could start a case in California but the court may decide or the other party may successfully petition to have it moved to Texas.
