McRae v. Perry et al

Filing 165

ORDER denying 14 Motion for Change of Venue to Savannah Pursuant to Local Rule 2.3. Signed by Chief Judge Lisa G. Wood on 9/6/2012. (csr)

31" the lKniteb Otatto Maria Court
for the £'outbmt Ofarta of georgIa
kunthtck Atbftston
MARGIE MCRAE,
Plaintiff,
VS.

MICHAEL B. PERRY; SSI
DEVELOPMENT, LLC; SCOTT
COCHRAN; EDWARD
OSTERVALD; GLYNN COUNTY
GEORGIA; and DOES 1-30,
Defendants.

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CV 211-193

ORDER
Presently before the Court is Plaintiff's "Motion for
Change of Venue to Savannah Pursuant to Local Rule 2.3." Dkt.
No. 14. For the reasons stated below, Plaintiff's motion is
DENIED.
I. Change of Venue
Plaintiff Margie McRae ("Plaintiff") moves the Court to
transfer this case to the Southern District of Georgia's
Savannah Division. Plaintiff asserts that venue should be
transferred because it will be "prohibitively difficult" to
impanel an impartial jury in the Brunswick Division. Pl.'s Mot.
1.

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Plaintiff's claims focus on litigation in a property
dispute that occurred several years ago. Former Glynn County
Superior Court Judge Amanda Williams ("Williams") made various
rulings in that litigation. Since that time, Williams has been
the subject of a Georgia Judicial Qualifications Commission
investigation. Plaintiff claims that potential jurors will not
be impartial because the investigation garnered media attention
in Brunswick. Plaintiff also argues that one of the witnesses
in this case, William Ligon, is now a Georgia Senator, and
therefore the jury pool will be tainted with predispositions
regarding Ligon. Plaintiff has not alleged that venue is
improper in this Court, but rather claims that the Savannah
division would be a more desirable forum. Defendants oppose
Plaintiff's request to transfer the case. Glynn County Resp.,
Dkt. No. 20; Perry Resp., Dkt. No. 23; SSI Resp., Dkt No. 28.
Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1404(a), "[f]or 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 it might have been brought." "Section 1404(a) is
intended to place discretion in the district court to adjudicate
motions for transfer according to an 'individualized, case-bycase consideration of convenience and fairness.' A motion to
' Plaintiff cites Southern District of Georgia Local Rule 2.3 as authority for
her request to transfer the case. While Local Rule 2.3 permits the court to
transfer the case, § 1404(a), and cases interpreting the statute guide the
Court's determination on whether to transfer the case.
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transfer under § 1404(a) thus calls on the district court to
weigh in the balance a number of case-specific factors."
Stewart Org., Inc. v. Ricoh Corp., 487 U.S. 22, 29 (1988)
(quoting Van Dusen v. Barrack, 376 U.S. 612, 622 (1964)).
Courts consider several factors in evaluating a § 1404(a)
motion: "(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)
The challenged conduct in this case occurred in the
Brunswick area. The case has no connection whatsoever to
Savannah. Thus, the first eight factors cut in favor of denying
Plaintiff's motion and keeping the case in the Brunswick
division. Plaintiff, however, argues that factor nine - trial
efficiency and the interests of justice - militates in favor of
transferring the case to the Savannah division. 2 Where a party

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Plaintiff has not explicitly addressed § 1404(a) or any of the factors used
in determining if transfer is appropriate. However, Plaintiff's motion is
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raises the issue of a potentially biased juror pool, "the
relevant question is not whether the community is aware of the
case, but whether the prospective jurors have such fixed
opinions that they are unable to judge impartially and resolve
the dispute between the parties." Haworth, Inc. v. Herman
Miller, Inc., 821 F. Supp. 1476, 1480 (N.D. Ga. 1992) (citing
United States v. Lehder-Rivas, 955 F.2d 1510, 1524 (11th Cir.
1992)). Here, Plaintiff has not shown that the jury pool in the
Brunswick Division is unable to judge impartially and resolve
the dispute. At best, Plaintiff has shown that the Brunswick
jury pool might be aware of some individuals that were involved
in a previous lawsuit, which is somewhat relevant to this suit.
Plaintiff's position does not warrant transfer of the case. The
Court further notes that adequate procedural mechanisms exist
for screening biased jurors at the jury selection phase of
litigation. Plaintiff's motion to transfer venue is denied.
II. Motion for Judicial Notice
In support of her request to transfer venue, Plaintiff also
asks the Court to take judicial notice of two facts. First,
Plaintiff asks the Court to take judicial notice of the Georgia
Judicial Qualifications Commission investigation regarding
Williams. Second, Plaintiff asks the Court to take judicial

reasonably construed as seeking a transfer based on the "judicial efficiency
and interests of justice" factor.

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notice of a criminal case pending against Camden County Sheriff
Smith. Because the Plaintiff's motion to transfer venue is
denied, the Court sees no need to take judicial notice of the
Georgia Judicial Qualifications Commission investigation or any
pending case against Sheriff Smith at this time.
For the above reasons, Plaintiff's 'Motion for Change of
Venue to Savannah Pursuant to Local Rule 2.3" is DENIED.

SO ORDERED, this 6th day of September, 2012.

LISA GODBEY WOOD, CHIEF JUDGE
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF GEORGIA

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