Turner v. Wynn et al

Filing 4

ORDER transferring this case to the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, Atlanta Division. Signed by Magistrate Judge Benjamin W. Cheesbro on 9/24/24. (wwp)

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF GEORGIA
WAYCROSS DIVISION
SCOTT J. TURNER,
Plaintiff,

CIVIL ACTION NO.: 5:24-cv-72

v.
JUDGE KEN WYNN, LAYLA ZON, PETER
BOEHM, and TERRY SMITH,
Defendants.
ORDER
Plaintiff, who is currently housed at Coffee Correctional Facility in Nicholls, Georgia,
has made a submission using a 42 U.S.C. § 1983 form. Doc. 1. Plaintiff’s Complaint concerns
events allegedly occurring in Covington, Georgia, which is in Newton County, Georgia. Id.
A district court may raise the issue of defective venue sua sponte. Collins v. Hagel,
No. 1:13-CV-2051, 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, in accordance
with 28 U.S.C. § 1406(a), of pro se prisoner’s civil rights action from New York to Georgia), and
collecting cases)). 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, 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 the named
Defendants. Section 1391(b) of Title 28 of the United States Code 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 complains about events occurring in Newton County, Georgia, which is within the
Northern District of Georgia. 28 U.S.C. § 90(a)(2). Thus, venue is proper in that District.
28 U.S.C. § 1391(b)(2). Accordingly, the Court TRANSFERS Plaintiff’s Complaint and this
case to the Atlanta Division of the United States District Court for the Northern District of
Georgia in the interest of justice.
SO ORDERED, this 24th day of September, 2024.

_____________________________________
BENJAMIN W. CHEESBRO
UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE
SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF GEORGIA

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