There are no direct flights and 1,505 miles between Killeen, Texas, and Virginia Beach, Va., the base cities of J-Crew Management Inc. and Atlantic Marine Construction Inc., respectively. J-Crew says Atlantic Marine owes it $160,000 for work it performed as a subcontractor on a $7.4-million child development center in 2011 at Fort Hood, near Killeen. Instead of suing in Virginia, which its contract requires, J-Crew sued in federal court near the U.S. Army base. A federal appeals-court judge in Austin upheld J-Crew's right to sue in its home state.

Forum or venue selection matters a great deal in murder and other trials that can inflame public passions. It also matters in construction, because companies prefer to plead their case where they employ staff or donate to local civic causes. "You do the dance where you want to be," says Gina Vitiello, a shareholder with attorney Chamberlain, Hrdlicka. The Atlanta-based firm has no role in the case.