Tractor Supply Company v. Ace American Insurance Company

Filing 33

ORDER: Defendant's unopposed motion to transfer venue to the Middle District of Tennessee (15) is GRANTED. The Clerk is DIRECTED to transfer this matter to the Middle District of Tennessee, terminate all pending deadlines and motions, and close the file. See Order for details. Signed by Judge John L. Badalamenti on 7/19/2021. (VK)

Case 2:21-cv-00028-JLB-MRM Document 33 Filed 07/19/21 Page 1 of 3 PageID 1670

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
MIDDLE DISTRICT OF FLORIDA
FORT MYERS DIVISION
TRACTOR SUPPLY COMPANY,
Plaintiff,
v.

Case No. 2:21-cv-28-JLB-MRM

ACE AMERICAN INSURANCE COMPANY,
Defendant.
ORDER
Defendant ACE American Insurance Company (“ACE”) moves to transfer
venue to the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee. (Doc. 15.)
Plaintiff Tractor Supply Company (“Tractor Supply”) initially opposed the motion
but has since withdrawn that opposition. (Docs. 21, 32.)
Venue for a civil action is proper 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 . . . any judicial district in which any defendant is subject to
the court’s personal jurisdiction with respect to such action.” 28 U.S.C. §
1391(b)(1)–(3). If venue is proper in multiple courts, then a case may be transferred
“to any other district or division where it might have been brought or to any district
or division to which all parties have consented,” provided the transfer serves “the

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convenience of parties and witnesses” and the “interest of justice.” 28 U.S.C. §
1404(a). “Courts typically interpret the phrase ‘might have been brought’ to mean
that the transferee court must be shown to have subject matter jurisdiction over the
action, that venue must be proper there, and that the defendant is amenable to
service of process there.” Fairstein v. Netflix, Inc., No. 2:20-cv-00180-JLB-MRM,
2020 WL 5701767, at *6 (M.D. Fla. Sept. 24, 2020) (citation omitted).
After careful review, it appears that: (a) diversity jurisdiction would exist in
the Middle District of Tennessee (Doc. 15 at 7); (b) a substantial part of the events
giving rise to Tractor Supply’s claims may have occurred in Tennessee (Doc. 15-1 at
7, ¶20); and (c) Tennessee has personal jurisdiction over ACE (Doc. 8 at ¶¶11–12);
see also T-Mobile USA, Inc. v. Auto-Owners Ins. Co., No. C20-0567-JCC, 2020 WL
4788021, at *4 (W.D. Wash. Aug. 18, 2020).
Moreover, in weighing convenience and the interests of justice, the Eleventh
Circuit considers the following factors:
(1) the convenience of the witnesses; (2) the location of
relevant documents and the relative ease of access to
sources of proof; (3) the convenience of the parties; (4) the
locus of operative facts; (5) the availability of process to
compel the attendance of unwilling witnesses; (6) the
relative means of the parties; (7) a forum’s familiarity with
the governing law; (8) the weight accorded a plaintiff’s
choice of forum; and (9) trial efficiency and the interests of
justice, based on the totality of the circumstances.
Manuel v. Convergys Corp., 430 F.3d 1132, 1135 n.1 (11th Cir. 2005). After
considering these factors—and noting the related cases that have already been
commenced in the Middle District of Tennessee—the Court believes that a transfer

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to the Middle District of Tennessee would serve the convenience of the parties and
witnesses and the interests of justice.
Accordingly, it is ORDERED:
1.

ACE’s unopposed motion to transfer venue to the Middle District of
Tennessee (Doc. 15) is GRANTED.

2.

The Clerk is DIRECTED to transfer this matter to the Middle District
of Tennessee, terminate all pending deadlines and motions, and close
the file.

ORDERED in Fort Myers, Florida, on July 19, 2021.

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