Opinion
8:23-cv-977-SDM-TGW
02-23-2024
SAMANTHA MAE ELMORE, Plaintiff, v. PAUL M. BLAKE, et al., Defendants.
ORDER
STEVEN D. MERRYDAY, UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
Samantha Mae Elmore, appearing pro se, sues several defendants, including Judge Paul M. Blake, a West Virginia family court judge; the Oak Hill, West Virginia police department; and the Fayette County, West Virginia public defender. Although Elmore's complaint is (at best) opaque, Elmore apparently attempts several claims based on some proceeding in a West Virginia family court. Elmore moves (Doc. 2) to proceed in forma pauperis. In a well reasoned report, the magistrate judge recommends (Doc. 3) dismissing without prejudice the complaint and denying the motion to proceed in forma pauperis. No objection timely appears.
The report describes a “litany of issues” with the complaint, such as Judge Blake's enjoying judicial immunity from any action premised on an act performed in Blake's judicial capacity and the Rooker-Feldman doctrine's barring any federal court from overturning the decision of a state court. Further, each of the defendants is in West Virginia, and the events on which Elmore appears to base this action occurred
in West Virginia. Under 28 U.S.C. § 1406, if a party sues in the wrong venue, that is, in a court that is not the proper place for an action to proceed, the “district court . . . shall dismiss[]” the action. Consequently, even if Elmore remedies the issues identified by the report and recommendation and even if Elmore's amended complaint complies with Rules 8 and 10, Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, the complaint will remain subject to dismissal under 28 U.S.C. § 1406.
For the reasons stated by the magistrate judge, the report and recommendation is ADOPTED. The complaint is DISMISSED WITHOUT PREJUDICE, and the motion to proceed in forma pauperis is DENIED WITHOUT PREJUDICE. Because any amended complaint will remain subject to dismissal under 28 U.S.C. § 1406, this action is DISMISSED WITHOUT PREJUDICE. If she has a cognizable claim, Elmore must assert the claim in West Virginia. The clerk must close the case.
ORDERED.
Venue, Black's Law Dictionary (11th ed. 2019).