JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. AP – The families of two children who suffered E. coli infections after eating McDonald’s hamburgers must sue in the rural counties where the restaurants were located, not in a bigger city where McDonald’s also has franchises, the state SupremeCourt ruled Tuesday.

The decision was a victory for McDonald’s Corp., which sought to transfer the lawsuits from Jackson County, where Kansas City is located, to the home counties of Branson and Marshfield in southern Missouri.