Source: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-cand-3_07-cv-06370/USCOURTS-cand-3_07-cv-06370-1/pdf.json

Nature of Suit Code: 446
Nature of Suit: Americans with Disabilities Act - Other
Cause of Action: 42:12101 Americans w/ Disabilities Act (ADA)

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United States District Court

For the Northern District of California

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United States District Court

For the Northern District of California

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

JERRY THOMPSON,

Plaintiff,

 v.

MOTEL 6,

Defendant. /

No. C-07-06370 (EDL)

ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE

Before the Court is Plaintiff’s complaint and application to proceed in forma pauperis. In his

complaint, Plaintiff alleges that Defendant is a “Texas corporation doing business in Nevada, located

at 1901 South Virginia Street, Reno, Nevada.” Complaint ¶ 1. Plaintiff alleges that he uses a

wheelchair, and that he was told that the wheelchair-accessible rooms at Defendant’s hotel only have

one bed when he tried to reserve a room at the Reno location. Id. ¶¶ 4-5.

“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).

Plaintiff’s complaint includes a claim under the Americans with Disabilities Act; jurisdiction

thus is not founded solely on diversity of citizenship. Plaintiff does not allege that Defendant resides

in or may be found in the Northern District of California. Nor does he allege that any of the events

giving rise to his claim occurred therein; indeed, based on the information in the complaint, the

events giving rise to Plaintiff’s claim occurred in Nevada. Consequently, it would appear that venue

Case 3:07-cv-06370-WHA Document 7 Filed 04/03/08 Page 1 of 2
United States District Court

For the Northern District of California

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is not proper in this district. See 28 U.S.C. § 1391(b).

Regarding Plaintiff’s application to proceed in forma pauperis (“IFP”), on January 29, 2008,

the Court issued an order deferring ruling on Plaintiff’s IFP application. Because Plaintiff omitted

certain information from that application (the present balance in his bank account and present cash

assets), the Court ordered Plaintiff to provide the Court with that information no later than February

18, 2008, so that the Court could rule on his application. This order was electronically served and

faxed to Plaintiff’s counsel. The Court made multiple unsuccessful attempts to contact counsel via

telephone regarding the status of this requested information. In addition, Plaintiff’s counsel has not

responded to the two clerk’s notices regarding consent to proceed before a United States Magistrate

Judge that were electronically served upon counsel. 

Accordingly, because venue appears to be improper in this district, and because Plaintiff has

not provided supplemental information in support of his IFP application as previously ordered by the

Court, Plaintiff is hereby ordered to show cause why his case should not be dismissed both for

improper venue and for failure to prosecute. See Costlaw v. Weeks, 790 F.2d 1486, 1488 (9th Cir.

1986) (holding district court has authority to raise issue of defective venue). A show cause hearing

is scheduled for April 22, 2008 at 9:00 a. m. in Courtroom E, 15th Floor, 450 Golden Gate Avenue,

San Francisco, CA. 

IT IS SO ORDERED.

Dated: April 3, 2008

______________________________

ELIZABETH D. LAPORTE

United States Magistrate Judge

Case 3:07-cv-06370-WHA Document 7 Filed 04/03/08 Page 2 of 2