Opinion
Case No. 1:11-cv-01537 JLT (PC)
09-14-2011
JAMES A. MULLINS, Plaintiff, v. DR. P. FINANDER, Defendant.
ORDER TRANSFERRING CASE TO THE
CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
Plaintiff, a state prisoner proceeding pro se, has filed a civil rights action pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983. Upon review of Plaintiff's complaint, it appears that Plaintiff has filed his civil rights action in the wrong venue.
The federal venue statute requires that a civil action, other than one based on diversity jurisdiction, 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 the 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). In this case, none of the defendants reside in this district. Moreover, the allegations giving rise to Plaintiff's claim appear to have occurred in Los Angeles County, which is in the Central District of California. This action should therefore have been filed in the United States District Court for the Central District of California.
A federal court may transfer a complaint filed in the wrong district to the correct district in the interest of justice. See 28 U.S.C. § 1406(a); Starnes v. McGuire, 512 F.2d 918, 932 (D.C. Cir. 1974). Accordingly, it is HEREBY ORDERED that this matter is transferred to the United States District Court for the Central District of California. IT IS SO ORDERED.
Jennifer L. Thurston
UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE