Source: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-caed-2_08-cv-02032/USCOURTS-caed-2_08-cv-02032-0/pdf.json

Nature of Suit Code: 440
Nature of Suit: Other Civil Rights
Cause of Action: 42:1983 Civil Rights Act

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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

DAVID PALMER,

Plaintiff, No. CIV S-08-2032 JAM DAD PS

vs.

THOMAS J. MOYER, et al.,

Defendants. ORDER

 /

Plaintiff, an individual proceeding pro se, has filed a personal injury action

asserting jurisdiction pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983. The case has been referred to the

undersigned pursuant to Local Rule 72-302(c)(21) and 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1).

Plaintiff alleges violations of his federal constitutional rights by Thomas J. Moyer,

Chief Justice of the Ohio Supreme Court and a resident of Franklin County, Ohio. Plaintiff’s

claims appear to arise from events that occurred in several counties within Ohio. Plaintiff alleges

that he resides in Sacramento County, California. 

Plaintiff is informed that it is not the plaintiff’s residence that determines proper

venue for a civil action in federal court. The federal venue statute provides as follows:

A civil action wherein jurisdiction is not founded solely on

diversity of citizenship may, except as otherwise provided in law,

be brought only in (1) a judicial district where any defendant

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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). If plaintiff were asserting jurisdiction founded only on diversity of

citizenship rather than on federal claims, the action could 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 is

subject to personal jurisdiction at the time the action is

commenced, if there is no district in which the action may

otherwise be brought.

28 U.S.C. § 1391(a).

Here, the sole named defendant resides in Franklin County, Ohio, and a

substantial part, if not all, of the events or omissions giving rise to plaintiff’s claims occurred in

Ohio. Plaintiff has not sued any person who resides within the judicial district of the United

States District Court for the Eastern District of California, and none of the events at issue

occurred within this judicial district. See Will v. Michigan Dep’t of State Police, 491 U.S. 58, 70

(1989); Pennhurst v. Halderman, 465 U.S. 89, 98-99 & 101-02 (1984).

This action should have been brought in the United States District Court for the

Southern District of Ohio, Eastern Division, because Franklin County, where defendant Moyer

resides, is located in that district and division. 28 U.S.C. § 115(b)(2). In the interests of justice,

this action will be transferred to the United States District Court for the Southern District of

Ohio, Eastern Division, for further proceedings, including a ruling on plaintiff’s application to

proceed in forma pauperis and plaintiff’s request for temporary restraining order. See 28 U.S.C.

§ 1404(a).

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Accordingly, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that this action is transferred to the

United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, Eastern Division, sitting in

Columbus, Ohio.

DATED: September 15, 2008.

DAD:kw

Ddad1\orders.pro se\palmer2032.transfer

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