Opinion
CV424-035
02-28-2024
QUONTERIOUS TOLES, Plaintiff, v. LT. NEWSOME, and CO II Moody, Defendants.
ORDER
CHRISTOPHER L. RAY UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF GEORGIA
Pro se plaintiff Quonterious Toles, a prisoner at Valdosta State Prison, has filed this 42 U.S.C. § 1983 case alleging that he was subject to unconstitutional conditions there. See Id. at 3, 7-8. He has moved to proceed in forma pauperis. Doc. 2. Since it is clear that this Court is not the proper venue for his claims, this case will be transferred. The issue of his filing fee will be resolved by the transferee court. Cf., White v. Lemma, 947 F.3d 1373, 1378-79 (11th Cir. 2020) (failure to pay the required filing fee is not a jurisdictional defect).
Valdosta State Prison lies in Lowndes County, in the Middle District of Georgia. See 28 U.S.C. § 90(b)(6). As Toles' allegations concern events that occurred exclusively in another district, the proper forum for this case is the United States District Court for the Middle District of Georgia. 28 U.S.C. §1391(b) (venue); 28 U.S.C. § 1406 (district courts may dismiss or transfer cases suffering venue defects); see also, e.g., Collins v. Hagel, 2015 WL 5691076, at *1 (N.D.Ga. Sept. 28, 2015) (“A district court may raise the issue of defective venue sua sponte.”).
Accordingly, the Clerk is DIRECTED to transfer this case to the Middle District of Georgia for all further proceedings.
SO ORDERED