Opinion
Civil Action No. 00-1235, Section "N"
July 25, 2000
ORDER AND REASONS
Before the Court is Defendant's Motion to Dismiss and/or Motion to Transfer.
Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(3) provides for dismissal of claims for improper venue. Alternatively, 28 U.S.C. § 1406 (a) permits a district court to transfer a case filed in an improper venue to any district or division in which it could have been brought, in the interest of justice.
Where, as here, federal jurisdiction is founded solely on diversity of citizenship, a civil 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 is subject to personal jurisdiction at the time the action is commenced, if there is no district in which the action may otherwise be brought.28 U.S.C. § 1391 (a). For purposes of venue, "a defendant that is a corporation shall be deemed to reside in any judicial district in which it is subject to personal jurisdiction at the time an action is commenced. . . ." 28 U.S.C. § 1391 (c). Where a state has more than one judicial district, a defendant corporation "shall be deemed to reside in any district in that State within which its contacts would be sufficient to subject it to personal jurisdiction if that district were a separate State, and, if there is no such district, the corporation shall be deemed to reside in the district within which it has the most significant contacts." 28 U.S.C. S § 1391(c).
Here, it is undisputed that Defendant does business solely in Lafayette, Louisiana, where it operates the Economy Inn in which Plaintiff alleges he was injured. Thus, this case should have been brought in the United States Court for the Western District of Louisiana. See 28 U.S.C. § 1391 (a)(1) and (2); Smith v. Fortenberry, 903 F. Supp. 1018, 1020-21 (E.D. La. 1995) (holding that events giving rise to the alleged injury, not medical treatment, constitute "a substantial part of the events giving rise to the claim"). Accordingly, in the interest of justice,
Defendant's long discussion of Louisiana state rules of venue is interesting but not particularly helpful in the resolution of this motion.
IT IS ORDERED that Civil Action No. 00-1235 be TRANSFERRED to the United States Court for the Western District of Louisiana.