Opinion
No. CIV S-11-0850 MCE DAD PS.
May 9, 2011
ORDER
Plaintiff, an individual proceeding pro se, has filed a civil rights action alleging deprivation of his rights under the Seventh and Fourteenth Amendments by persons acting under color of law. The case has been referred to the undersigned pursuant to Local Rule 302(c)(21) and 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1).
Plaintiff alleges that all of the defendants in this action are residents of Tuolumne County. In addition, plaintiff's allegations and attachments to the complaint reveal that the alleged deprivation of rights arose in connection with plaintiff's eviction from and the sale of property located in Tuolumne County.
By order filed June 23, 2010 in Brainard v. Willmon, et al., No. CIV S-10-1453 FCD DAD PS, the undersigned previously advised plaintiff Brainard that the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California sits in Fresno as well as in Sacramento. Intra-district venue is governed by Local Rule 120, which provides as follows:
(d) Commencement of actions. All civil and criminal actions and proceedings of every nature and kind cognizable by the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California arising in Calaveras, Fresno, Inyo, Kern, Kings, Madera, Mariposa, Merced, Stanislaus, Tulare and Tuolumne counties shall be commenced in the United States District Court sitting in Fresno, California. . . .
Local Rule 120(d) (emphasis added).
In the present case, the defendants reside and the events at issue occurred in Tuolumne County. Thus, this action arose in Tuolumne County and should have been commenced in the Fresno Division of the court. When an action has not been filed in the proper division of this court, the court may, on its own motion, transfer the action to another venue within the district. See Local Rule 120(f). The undersigned will therefore transfer this action to the Fresno Division of the court for all further proceedings.
Good cause appearing, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that:
1. This action is transferred to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California sitting in Fresno for all further proceedings; and
2. All future filings shall reference the new Fresno case number to be assigned and shall be filed only at:
United States District Court
Eastern District of California
2500 Tulare Street
Fresno, CA 93721
DATED: May 6, 2011.