Opinion
1:21-cv-01636-JPH-MPB
07-07-2021
JEREMIAH S. FARMER, Plaintiff, v. HAMMOND POLICE, et al., Defendants.
ORDER TRANSFERRING CASE
James Patrick Hanlon, United States District Judge
Jeremiah Shane Farmer, a federal inmate in West Virginia, brought this suit based on events relating to a federal criminal case in the Northern District of Indiana. See United States v. Farmer, No. 2:15-cr-72 (N.D. Ind. June 23, 2021). The Court ordered Plaintiff to show cause by June 28, 2021 why the case should not be transferred there. Dkt. 5 at 1. Mr. Farmer has not responded.
A "district court may transfer any civil action to any other district or division where it might have been brought" "[f]or the convenience of parties and witnesses, in the interest of justice." 28 U.S.C. § 1404(a). "When deciding whether to transfer a case under § 1404(a), a district court therefore must evaluate both the convenience of the parties and various public-interest considerations." In re Ryze Claims Sols., LLC, 968 F.3d 701, 707-08 (7th Cir. 2020). These public-interest considerations include "each court's relative familiarity with the relevant law, the respective desirability of resolving controversies in each locale, and the relationship of each community to the controversy." Id. at 708.
All of the events giving rise to Mr. Farmer's claim occurred in the Northern District of Indiana, the complaint lists no defendants residing in this district, and Mr. Farmer has failed to show cause for why his case should not be transferred. For these reasons, the Clerk SHALL TRANSFER this case to the United States District Court for the Northern District of Indiana and close this case on the docket.
Mr. Farmer's motion for appointment of counsel, dkt. 2, remains pending, to be addressed after the case has been transferred.
SO ORDERED.