The lawsuit filed by a Fallon family whose son died of leukemia will be heard in Reno instead of Fallon.
Washoe District Judge Steven Elliott ruled on Tuesday against Fallon's bid to have the suit heard in Fallon, citing state law that allows a change of venue only when none of the defendants comes from the county where the suit is filed.
Santa Fe Pipeline Company does business in Washoe County.
Fallon attorney Don Lattin said he will appeal. He said the law requires that when a city or county is named as a defendant in a suit that the case be held there.
Richard Jernee, whose 10-year-old son Adam died of leukemia in 2001, has sued Fallon, the pipeline company and others. Adam was one of 16 Fallon-area children diagnosed with leukemia since 1997. Two other patients also have died.
