Opinion
4:24-cv-00987-LPR
11-20-2024
JAMES H. VALENTINIS-DEE #553045 PLAINTIFF v. EASTERN DISTRICT OF ARKANSAS, et al. DEFENDANTS
ORDER
LEE P. RUDOFSKY UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
Plaintiff James H. Valentinis-Dee, an inmate in custody at the Montgomery County Jail in
Conroe, Texas, submitted a pro se complaint for filing in this District. Based on the facts alleged and the Defendants named, it appears that venue properly lies in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas. Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §1391(b):
It is unclear if Plaintiff is trying to proceed on a new action or instead trying to seek appellate review (in the Fifth Circuit) of an action in the Southern District of Texas. See Compl. (Doc. 1) at 1 (“Plaintiff is timely filed in lower court and appointed honorable District Court for the Southern District of Texas Keith P. Ellison cause # 4:24-cv-03434”); id. (where the caption of the Complaint cites Case No. 4:24-cv-03404 and provides a blank line for a Fifth Circuit case number); id. at 8 (Plaintiff's prayer for relief seeking a writ of mandamus).
A civil action may be brought in
(1) a judicial district in which any defendant resides, if all defendants are residents of the State in which the district is located;
(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) if there is no district in which an action may otherwise be brought as provided in this section, any judicial district in which any defendant is subject to the court's personal jurisdiction with respect to such action.
Mr. Valentinis-Dee's complaint is very difficult to follow. The few allegations that can be discerned, however, challenge the conditions of his current confinement in Montgomery County, Texas. Montgomery County is located in the Houston Division of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas. Accordingly, the Court finds that the interests of justice would best be served by transferring this case to the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas.
For example, he alleges that he “has continually been subjected to constr[ai]nt” in the jail, and he requests that additional corrections and medical staff be assigned to the facility. Compl. (Doc. 1) at 2-4. Although he appears to name the Eastern District of Arkansas as a Defendant, he does not make any allegations against this Court-and it is unclear why he submitted his Complaint here.
See 28 U.S.C. § 1406(a) (“The district court of a district in which is filed a case laying venue in the wrong division or district shall dismiss, or if it be in the interest of justice, transfer such case to any district or division in which it could have been brought.”).
IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED that the Clerk of the Court is directed to immediately transfer Plaintiff's entire case file to the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas.
IT IS SO ORDERED.