Baker v. Fulton County Jail et al

Filing 3

ORDER transferring 1 Complaint filed by Antwain D. Baker to the USDC for the Northern District of Georgia, Atlanta Division, in the interest of justice. Signed by Magistrate Judge R. Stan Baker on 8/25/2017. (ca)[Transferred from Georgia Southern on 8/25/2017.]

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF GEORGIA
BRUNSWICK DIVISION

ANTWAIN D. BAKER,
Plaintiff,

CIVIL ACTION NO.: 2:17-cv-96

v.
FULTON COUNTY JAIL; DUTY OFFICER
D. TROTTER; and SHERIFF T. JACKSON,
Defendants.

ORDER
Plaintiff, who is currently housed at Hancock State Prison in Sparta, Georgia, filed a
Complaint pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983. (Doc. 1.) Upon review of Plaintiff’s Complaint, it is
clear Plaintiff names as Defendants individuals residing in Fulton County, Georgia, and he
contests events allegedly occurring in Fulton County, Georgia. (Id.)
A district court may raise the issue of defective venue sua sponte. Collins v. Hagel, No.
1:13-CV-2051-WSD, 2015 WL 5691076, at *1 (N.D. Ga. Sept. 28, 2015) (citing Kapordelis v.
Danzig, 387 F. App’x 905, 906–07 (11th Cir. 2010) (affirming sua sponte transfer, pursuant to
28 U.S.C. § 1406(a), of pro se prisoner’s civil rights action from New York to Georgia); Berry v.
Salter, 179 F. Supp. 2d 1345, 1350 (M.D. Ala. 2001); cf. Lipofsky v. New York State Workers
Comp. Bd., 861 F.2d 1257, 1259 (11th Cir. 1988); and Nalls v. Coleman Low Fed. Inst., 440 F.
App’x 704, 706 (11th Cir. 2011)). When venue is improper, a court “shall dismiss, or if it be in
the interest of justice, transfer such case to any district . . . in which it could have been brought.”
28 U.S.C. § 1406(a). “The court may transfer the case if (1) the proposed transferee court is one
in which the action ‘could have been brought’ and (2) transfer would be ‘in the interest of

justice.’” Leach v. Peacock, Civil Action No. 2:09cv738-MHT, 2011 WL 1130596, at *4 (M.D.
Ala. Mar. 25, 2011) (citing 28 U.S.C. § 1406(a)). Trial courts generally have broad discretion in
determining whether to transfer or dismiss a case. Id. (citing England v. ITT Thompson Indus.,
Inc., 856 F.2d 1518, 1520 (11th Cir. 1988)).
This Court is not the proper venue to hear Plaintiff’s claims against these Defendants.
28 U.S.C. § 1391(b) sets forth the applicable venue provisions:
A civil action may be brought 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 as provided in this section, any judicial district in which any defendant
is subject to the court’s personal jurisdiction with respect to such action.
Plaintiff is housed in a facility in Sparta, Georgia, which is within the Middle District of Georgia,
and he complains about events occurring in Fulton County, Georgia, which is in the Atlanta
Division of the Northern District of Georgia. 28 U.S.C. §§ 90(a)(2) & (b)(1). He does not allege
that any Defendant resides in this District.
Accordingly, the Court TRANSFERS Plaintiff’s Complaint, and hence, this case, to the
United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, Atlanta Division, in the interest
of justice.
SO ORDERED, this 25th day of August, 2017.

R. STAN BAKER
UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE
SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF GEORGIA

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