Roberts v. River Correctional Center et al
Filing
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ORDER AND REASONS. It is ORDERED that the instant matter is TRANSFERRED to the United States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana. It is FURTHER ORDERED that determination of pauper status is DEFERRED to the United States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana. Signed by Magistrate Judge Sally Shushan.(gec)
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
EASTERN DISTRICT OF LOUISIANA
KENNETH ROBERTS
CIVIL ACTION
VERSUS
NO. 16-2988
RIVER CORRECTIONAL
CENTER, ET AL.
SECTION: “G”(1)
ORDER AND REASONS
Plaintiff, Kenneth Roberts, a state prisoner, filed this federal civil rights action pursuant to
42 U.S.C. § 1983. He sued the River Correctional Center and Concordia Parish Sheriff Kenneth
Hedrick.
In this lawsuit, plaintiff claims that he was denied adequate medical care while
incarcerated at the River Correctional Center in Ferriday, Louisiana.
Because § 1983 contains no specific venue provision, venue is determined pursuant to 28
U.S.C. § 1391, the general venue statute. See Jones v. Bales, 58 F.R.D. 453, 458 (N.D. Ga. 1972),
aff’d, 480 F. 2d 805 (5th Cir. 1973). That statute provides:
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.
28 U.S.C. § 1391(b).
In the instant case, no defendant is alleged to reside in the Eastern District of Louisiana,
and no part of the events or omissions giving rise to plaintiff’s claims are alleged to have occurred
within this district. However, it appears that all of those events or omissions occurred at the River
Correctional Center in Concordia Parish, which lies within the geographical boundaries of the
United States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana. 28 U.S.C. § 98(c).
Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §§ 1404(a) and 1406(a), a district in which venue is wrong may
transfer a case to another district or division in which venue is proper, if such transfer is in the
interest of justice. Balawajder v. Scott, 160 F.3d 1066, 1067 (5th Cir. 1999). Because venue is
not proper in the Eastern District of Louisiana but would be proper in the Western District, the
Court finds that it is in the interest of justice and fairness to the parties that this civil action be
transferred to the Western District of Louisiana for further consideration.
Accordingly,
IT IS ORDERED that the instant matter is TRANSFERRED to the United States District
Court for the Western District of Louisiana.
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that determination of pauper status is DEFERRED to the
United States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana.
New Orleans, Louisiana, this eighteenth day of April, 2016.
__________________________________________
SALLY SHUSHAN
UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE
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