KIRKLAND v. GEORGIA DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS

Filing 4

OPINION AND ORDER TRANSFERRING CASE to Middle District of Georgia. Signed by District Judge Gerald E. Rosen. (DPer) [Transferred from mied on 8/31/2015.]

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
EASTERN DISTRICT OF MICHIGAN
SOUTHERN DIVISION
KIRKLAND SCOTT,
Plaintiff,
CASE NO. 2:15-CV-13014
HONORABLE DENISE PAGE HOOD
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

v.

GEORGIA DEPARTMENT OF
CORRECTIONS,
Defendant,
____________________________________/
OPINION AND ORDER TRANSFERRING PLAINTIFF’S CIVIL RIGHTS
COMPLAINT TO THE MIDDLE DISTRICT OF GEORGIA
Kirkland Scott, (“plaintiff”), presently confined at the Baldwin State Prison in
Hardwick, Georgia, has filed a civil rights complaint in this district pursuant to 42
U.S.C. § 1983. In his complaint, plaintiff claims that he was wrongly extradited
back to the State of Georgia by the defendant, where he is currently serving a
prison sentence. For the reasons stated below, the Court will transfer this matter
to the Middle District of Georgia for further proceedings.
I. DISCUSSION
Plaintiff is incarcerated at the Baldwin State Prison in Hardwick, Georgia,
which is located in the Middle District of Georgia. Plaintiff remains incarcerated at
this facility and claims that he is being incarcerated in violation of his
constitutional rights. The sole named defendant, the Georgia Department of
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Corrections, is located in Forsyth, Georgia, which is also in the Middle District of
Georgia.
When federal jurisdiction is not based solely upon diversity of citizenship,
venue is proper in (1) the judicial district where any defendant resides, if all of the
defendants reside in the same state, (2) the judicial district where a substantial
part of the events or omissions giving rise to the claim occurred, or (3) the judicial
district where any defendant may be found, if there is no other district in which the
action may be brought. See Bunting ex rel. Gray v. Gray, 2 Fed. Appx. 443, 448
(6th Cir. 2001)(citing 28 U.S.C. § 1391(b)).
For the convenience of parties and witnesses, in the interest of justice, a
district court may transfer any civil action to any other district or division where the
action might have been brought. See United States v. P.J. Dick, Inc., 79 F. Supp.
2d 803, 805-06 (E.D. Mich. 2000)(Gadola, J.); 28 U.S.C. § 1404(a). Venue of a
lawsuit may be transferred sua sponte for the convenience of parties or
witnesses. See Schultz v. Ary, 175 F. Supp. 2d 959, 964 (W.D. Mich. 2001).
The factors that guide a district court’s discretion in deciding whether to
transfer a case include: (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 the operative facts; (5) the availability
of process to compel the attendance of unwilling witnesses; (6) the relative
means of the parties; (7) the forum’s familiarity with governing law; (8) the weight
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accorded the plaintiff’s choice of forum; and (9) trial efficiency and interests of
justice, based upon the totality of the circumstances. Overland, Inc. v. Taylor, 79
F. Supp. 2d 809, 811 (E.D. Mich. 2000)(Gadola, J.).
The Court concludes that both for the convenience of the parties and
witnesses, as well as in the interests of justice, the present matter must be
transferred to the Middle District of Georgia. Plaintiff is currently incarcerated in
the Middle District of Georgia and defendant resides in this district. The Middle
District of Georgia is the most convenient forum to litigate plaintiff’s wrongful
extradition claim and any other claims pertaining to his allegedly wrongful
imprisonment because all or most of the material events took place there, the
records and witnesses pertinent to plaintiff’s claims are likely to be found and,
most importantly, that forum is equally convenient for plaintiff and respondent.
See Bass v. Kelly, 504 F. Supp. 776, 782 (E.D. Mich. 1980).
II. ORDER
Accordingly, the Court ORDERS the Clerk of the Court to transfer this case
to the United States District Court for the Middle District of Georgia pursuant to 28
U.S.C. § 1404(a).

S/Denise Page Hood
Denise Page Hood
United States District Judge
Dated: August 31, 2015

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I hereby certify that a copy of the foregoing document was served upon counsel
of record on August 31, 2015, by electronic and/or ordinary mail.
S/LaShawn R. Saulsberry
Case Manager

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