Source: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-caed-1_20-cv-00674/USCOURTS-caed-1_20-cv-00674-0/pdf.json

Nature of Suit Code: 550
Nature of Suit: Prisoner - Civil Rights (U.S. defendant)
Cause of Action: 42:1983 Prisoner Civil Rights

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United States District Court

Northern District of California

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

PAUL ADAMS, et al.,

Plaintiffs,

v.

GAVIN NEWSOM, et al.,

Defendants.

Case No. 20-cv-01325-JSC 

ORDER OF TRANSFER

(ECF Nos. 2, 3)

Plaintiffs, California prisoners proceeding pro se, filed this civil rights action under 42 

U.S.C. § 1983.1 Plaintiffs are located at the California Correctional Institute (“CCI”) in 

Tehachapi, California. They seek to represent a class of all inmates in state prison and in county 

jails throughout California. They claim that housing inmates in bunkbeds violates the federal 

constitution. They name two defendants, the Governor of California and the Secretary of the 

California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, both of whom are located in Sacramento, 

California. Tehachapi, in Kern County, and Sacramento lie within the venue of the Eastern 

District of California. See 28 U.S.C. § 84. 

When, as here, jurisdiction is not founded on diversity, venue is proper in the district in 

which (1) any defendant resides, if all of the defendants reside in the same state, (2) the 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). Venue for this case is proper in any district in California under 

1 Plaintiffs have consented to the jurisdiction of a United States Magistrate Judge pursuant to 28 

U.S.C. § 636(c). (ECF Nos. 4-5.) 

Case 1:20-cv-00674-AWI-SAB Document 7 Filed 05/13/20 Page 1 of 2
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United States District Court

Northern District of California

Section 1391(b)(2) because the class-wide allegations encompass events that took place 

throughout the state. 

The Eastern District of California is the more convenient forum, however. Where an 

alternative forum with greater relation to the defendant or the action exists than the forum in which 

the action was filed, 28 U.S.C. § 1404(a) allows transfer of a case from one federal district court to 

another "[f]or the convenience of parties and witnesses, in the interest of justice." Plaintiffs and 

Defendants are located in the Eastern District, and the alleged violations of Plaintiffs’ rights also 

took place in the Eastern District. Although Plaintiffs seek to certify a class of all California 

inmates, certification of such a class is unlikely because pro se prisoner plaintiffs are not adequate 

class representatives able to fairly represent and adequately protect the interests of the class. See 

Oxendine v. Williams, 509 F.2d 1405, 1407 (4th Cir. 1975); see also Russell v. United States, 308 

F.2d 78, 79 (9th Cir. 1962). Even if the class is certified, moreover, litigating the case in the 

district where the named Plaintiffs and Defendants are located is more convenient. 

For the convenience of the parties and in the interests of justice, this case is 

TRANSFERRED to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California pursuant 

to 28 U.S.C. § 1404(a). The Clerk of the Court shall transfer this matter forthwith. In light of this 

transfer, the Court defers to the Eastern District for ruling on the motions for leave to proceed in 

forma pauperis. 

The Clerk shall terminate docket numbers 2 and 3 from this Court's docket.

IT IS SO ORDERED.

Dated: May 13, 2020

JACQUELINE SCOTT CORLEY

United States Magistrate Judge

Case 1:20-cv-00674-AWI-SAB Document 7 Filed 05/13/20 Page 2 of 2