Kinney v. Marcus et al
Filing
29
ORDER by Judge Laurel Beeler granting 8 Motion to Transfer Case. The court grants the defendants' motion to transfer and transfers the case to the Central District of California. (lblc3S, COURT STAFF) (Filed on 5/11/2016)
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
9
NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
10
SAN FRANCISCO DIVISION
United States District Court
Northern District of California
11
CHARLES KINNEY,
Case No.16-cv-01260-LB
Plaintiff,
12
v.
13
14
ORDER TRANSFERRING CASE
MICHELE R CLARK, et al.,
Re: ECF No. 8
Defendants.
15
16
INTRODUCTION
17
The plaintiff Charles Kinney sued David Marcus, Eric Chomsky, and Michele Clark, all
18
19
residents of Los Angeles County, for alleged violations of the Fair Debt Collections Practices Act
20
(“FDCPA”). 1 Ms. Clark sold Mr. Kinney her home at 3525 Fernwood Avenue in Los Angeles,
21
and Messieurs Marcus and Chomsky are her attorneys. 2 The defendants allegedly put liens on his
22
property in Alameda, California, and Mr. Kinney alleges that this violates the FDCPA. 3 The
23
defendants recount Mr. Kinney’s many lawsuits surrounding the Fernwood property, including his
24
civil RICO suit in 2014 that the undersigned transferred to the Central District of California. See
25
1
26
27
28
Complaint — ECF No. 1. Citations are to the Electronic Case File (“ECF”); pinpoint citations
are to the ECF-generated page numbers at the top of the documents.
2
Id. ¶¶ 1-3, 15.
3
Id. ¶¶ 31, 36-39.
ORDER (No.16-cv-01260-LB)
1
Kinney v. Chomsky, No. 3:14-cv-02187-LB, Order — ECF No. 27 (N.D. Cal. July 25, 2014). 4
2
Two of the defendants in this lawsuit were parties to that lawsuit, and Mr. Kinney complains about
3
many of the same transactions in both lawsuits, albeit under different legal theories. The
4
defendants move to transfer the case to the Central District of California under 28 U.S.C. §
5
1404(a). 5 The parties consented to the undersigned’s jurisdiction. 6 The court finds that it can
6
decide the matter without oral argument under Civil Local Rule 7-1(b). The court grants the
7
motion to transfer.
GOVERNING LAW
9
28 U.S.C. § 1404(a) states: “For the convenience of parties and witnesses, in the interest of
10
justice, a district court may transfer any civil action to any other district or division where it might
11
United States District Court
Northern District of California
8
have been brought.” Although Congress drafted § 1404(a) in accordance with the doctrine of
12
forum non conveniens, it was intended to be a revision rather than a codification of the common
13
law. Piper Aircraft v. Reyno, 454 U.S. 235, 253 (1981); Norwood v. Kirkpatrick, 349 U.S. 29, 32
14
(1955). Thus, a § 1404(a) transfer is available “upon a lesser showing of inconvenience” than that
15
required for a forum non conveniens dismissal. Norwood, 349 U.S. at 32.
The burden is upon the moving party to show that transfer is appropriate. Commodity Futures
16
17
Trading Commission v. Savage, 611 F.2d 270, 279 (9th Cir. 1979); see also Los Angeles Memorial
18
Coliseum Comm. v. National Football League, 89 F.R.D. 497, 499 (C.D. Cal. 1981), aff’d, 726
19
F.2d 1381, 1399 (9th Cir. 1984). Nonetheless, the district court has broad discretion “to adjudicate
20
motions for transfer according to an ‘individualized, case-by-case consideration of convenience
21
and fairness.’” Jones v. GNC Franchising, Inc., 211 F.3d 495, 498 (9th Cir. 2000) (quoting
22
Stewart Org. v. Ricoh Corp., 487 U.S. 22, 29 (1988)); see Westinghouse Elec. Corp. v. Weigel,
23
426 F.2d 1356, 1358 (9th Cir. 1970).
24
An action may be transferred to another court if 1) that court is one where the action might
25
have been brought, 2) the transfer serves the convenience of the parties, and 3) the transfer will
26
4
27
28
Notice of Related Cases — ECF No. 10.
Motion — ECF No. 8.
6
Consents — ECF Nos. 6, 14.
5
ORDER (No. 16-cv-01260-LB)
2
1
promote the interests of justice. E & J Gallo Winery v. F. & P. S.p.A., 899 F. Supp. 465, 466 (E.D.
2
Cal. 1994) (citing 28 U.S.C. § 1404(a)). The Ninth Circuit has identified numerous additional
3
factors a court may consider in determining whether a change of venue should be granted under §
4
1404(a):
5
8
(1) the location where the relevant agreements were negotiated and executed, (2)
the state that is most familiar with the governing law, (3) the plaintiff’s choice of
forum, (4) the respective parties’ contacts with the forum, (5) the contacts relating
to the plaintiff’s cause of action in the chosen forum, (6) the differences in the costs
of litigation in the two forums, (7) the availability of compulsory process to compel
attendance of unwilling non-party witnesses, and (8) the ease of access to sources
of proof.
9
Jones, 211 F.3d at 498–99. Courts may also consider, “the administrative difficulties flowing from
10
court congestion . . . [and] the ‘local interest in having localized controversies decided at home.’”
11
Decker Coal Co. v. Commonwealth Edison Co., 805 F.2d 834, 843 (9th Cir. 1986) (quoting Piper
12
Aircraft, 454 U.S. at 241 n. 6).
6
United States District Court
Northern District of California
7
13
Generally, the court affords the plaintiff’s choice of forum great weight. Lou v. Belzberg, 834
14
F.2d 730, 739 (9th Cir. 1987). But when judging the weight to be given to plaintiff’s choice of
15
forum, consideration must be given to the respective parties’ contact with the chosen forum. Id. “If
16
the operative facts have not occurred within the forum and the forum has no interest in the parties
17
or subject matter,” the plaintiff’s choice “is entitled only minimal consideration.” Id.
18
ANALYSIS
19
20
The defendants have met their burden to show that transfer is appropriate.
21
First, Mr. Kinney could have brought his action in the Central District. The general venue
22
requirements of 28 U.S.C. § 1391(b) are met because all defendants reside in the Central District,
23
a substantial part of the events occurred there, and all three defendants may be found there. Mr.
24
Kinney does not dispute this in his opposition.
25
Second, the defendants have shown that transfer serves the convenience of the parties and will
26
promote the interests of justice. The three defendants live and work in Los Angeles, the property is
27
there, Mr. Kinney litigated cases about the Fernwood property there, and the witnesses are there,
28
400 miles away, outside the reach of compulsory process. The docket sheet reflects that Mr.
ORDER (No. 16-cv-01260-LB)
3
1
Kinney is a lawyer with law offices in Oakland, but he has a home in Los Angeles and thus resides
2
here and in the Central District. As for promoting the interests of justice, only one factor supports
3
keeping the case here: Mr. Kinney’s choice of forum. The remaining factors favor transfer. As the
4
court held previously, to the extent that there are some contacts here (such as the allegations that
5
Mr. Chomsky and Mr. Marcus improperly filed and recorded liens against Mr. Kinney’s property
6
here), everything else took place in the Central District. 7
In sum, the court concludes that the defendants met their burden to show that transfer of the
7
8
lawsuit to the Central District of California is appropriate under 28 U.S.C. § 1404(a).
CONCLUSION
9
The court grants the defendants’ motion to transfer and transfers the case to the Central
10
United States District Court
Northern District of California
11
District of California. The court grants the request to take judicial notice of public-record
12
documents showing the existence of other litigation (but does not take judicial notice of the facts
13
contained in the documents). This disposes of ECF No. 8.
14
IT IS SO ORDERED.
15
Dated: May 11, 2016
16
______________________________________
LAUREL BEELER
United States Magistrate Judge
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
7
Order, Case No. 3:14-cv-02187-LB — ECF No. 27 at 6-7.
ORDER (No. 16-cv-01260-LB)
4
Disclaimer: Justia Dockets & Filings provides public litigation records from the federal appellate and district courts. These filings and docket sheets should not be considered findings of fact or liability, nor do they necessarily reflect the view of Justia.
Why Is My Information Online?