Opinion
NO. CV 19-10311-JFW (AGR)
12-13-2019
ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE
On December 5, 2019, Plaintiff filed a civil rights complaint. For the reasons discussed below, the Court orders Plaintiff to show cause, on or before January 6 , 2020 , why this Court should not transfer the complaint to the Eastern District of California.
I.
THE COMPLAINT
Plaintiff names the following defendant: Robert Burton, the Warden of the Deuel Vocational Institute in Tracy, California. (Compl. at 3.) He alleges that the prison conditions, including lack of sanitation or cleaning supplies and broken or missing windows in winter, violate his Eighth Amendment rights. (Id. at 5-6.)
II.
VENUE
"A civil action wherein jurisdiction is not founded solely on diversity of citizenship 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); see Costlow v. Weeks, 790 F.2d 1486 (9th Cir. 1986) (applying § 1391(b) to § 1983 claim).
All defendants in this action, and all of the events or omissions giving rise to Plaintiff's claims occurred in Tracy, California. Tracy is in San Joaquin County, which is in the Eastern District of California. 28 U.S.C. § 84(b).
Accordingly, Plaintiff must explain why this action should not be dismissed. See Costlow, 790 F.2d at 1488 ("the district court ha[s] the authority to raise the issue of defective venue on its own motion"); see 28 U.S.C. § 1406(a) ("The district court of a district in which is filed a case laying venue in the wrong . . . district, shall dismiss, or if it be in the interest of justice, transfer such case to any district . . . in which it could have been brought.").
III.
ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE
IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED that, on or before January 6 , 2020 , Plaintiff shall show cause, if there be any, why this Court should not transfer the action to the Eastern District of California. See Offshore Sportswear, Inc. v. Vuarnet Int'l, B.V., 114 F.3d 848, 851 (9th Cir. 1997).
Plaintiff is also advised that if he fails to timely respond to this Order to Show Cause , the Court will transfer the action to the Eastern District of California. DATED: December 13, 2019
/s/_________
ALICIA G. ROSENBERG
United States Magistrate Judge