Opinion
CIVIL ACTION NO. 1:18-CV-635-AT-JKL
02-16-2018
MATTHEW REED SUMNER, Plaintiff, v. MICHAEL MOORE, Defendant.
PRISONER CIVIL RIGHTS 42 U.S.C. § 1983 FINAL REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION
Plaintiff is confined at the Madison County Jail in Danielsville, Georgia (the "Jail"). Plaintiff, pro se, filed a complaint under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 seeking relief for the allegedly unlawful conditions of his confinement at the Jail. (Doc. 1.)
Plaintiff contends that since his confinement began in September 2017, he has "on several occasions had severe difficulties with the staff here at the [J]ail." (Id. at 3.) Plaintiff alleges that Jail officers have abused him, retaliated against him, and not allowed him to use the law library. (Id. at 3-4.) He is "suing for deliberate indifferences, wanton pain and suffering, mental anguish . . . [d]iscrimination . . . [d]ue process violations . . . [h]arassment and nitpicking." (Id. at 4.) Plaintiff named the Sheriff of Madison County as Defendant because "he is the boss over all of his subordinates" at the Jail. (Id. at 3.)
This Court is not the proper venue for Plaintiff's action. A § 1983 action
may, except as otherwise provided by law, be brought only in (1) a judicial district where any defendant resides, if all defendants reside in the same State, (2) a judicial district in which a substantial part of the events or omissions giving rise to the claim occurred, or a substantial part of property that is the subject of the action is situated, or (3) a judicial district in which any defendant may be found, if there is no district in which the action may otherwise be brought.28 U.S.C. § 1391(b). Plaintiff's complaint concerns only his confinement at the Jail and seeks relief from the Jail's chief official. (Doc. 1.) The Jail is located in Madison County, which is within the jurisdiction of the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Georgia.
A district court must transfer a case filed in the wrong court to a court in which venue is proper "if it be in the interest of justice." 28 U.S.C. § 1406(a). Because Plaintiff is proceeding pro se and likely does not know the venue laws, the undersigned finds it in the interest of justice to transfer this case to the proper venue.
Accordingly, IT IS RECOMMENDED that the Court TRANSFER this action to the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Georgia, Athens Division, for further proceedings.
SO RECOMMENDED, this 16th day of February, 2018.
/s/_________
JOHN K. LARKINS III
UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE