Mitchell v. Witt et al
Filing
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OPINION AND ORDER TRANSFERRING CASE to Western District of Virginia. Signed by District Judge Gershwin A. Drain. (DPer)
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
EASTERN DISTRICT OF MICHIGAN
SOUTHERN DIVISION
JACOB LEON MITCHELL,
Plaintiff,
v.
CASE No. 2:21-cv-12474
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT JUDGE
GERSHWIN A. DRAIN
MR. WITT, ET AL.,
Defendants.
_______________________________/
OPINION AND ORDER TRANSFERRING PLAINTIFF’S CIVIL RIGHTS
COMPLAINT TO THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE
WESTERN DISTRICT OF VIRGINIA
I. INTRODUCTION
Plaintiff Jacob Leon Mitchell is presently confined at the Keen Mountain
Correctional Center in Oakwood, Virginia. ECF No. 1, PageID.1. He filed a civil
rights complaint in this district pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983. Id. Mr. Mitchell
alleges that defendants violated his constitutional rights while he was incarcerated
at Keen Mountain Correctional Center. ECF No. 1, PageID.3. For the reasons
discussed below, the Court will transfer this matter to the United States District
Court for the Western District of Virginia for further proceedings.
II. DISCUSSION
All of Mr. Mitchell’s alleged constitutional violations took place while he was
incarcerated at the Keen Mountain Correctional Center in Oakwood, Virginia. That
prison is in the Western District of Virginia. Mr. Mitchell remains incarcerated at
Keen Mountain Correctional Center. The defendants named in this suit reside in the
Western District of Virginia as well.
Venue is in the judicial district where either all defendants reside or where the
claim arose. Al-Muhaymin v. Jones, 895 F. 2d 1147, 1148 (6th Cir. 1990); 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); 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
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the parties; (7) the forum’s familiarity with governing law; (8) the weight 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).
Here, 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 Western District of Virginia. The primary factor in making the determination
to transfer venue is that all the “operative facts” in this case took place at the Keen
Mountain Correctional Center, which is in the Western District of Virginia. See
Pierce v. Coughlin, 806 F. Supp. 426, 428 (S.D.N.Y. 1992). The defendants all work
at this facility. ECF No. 1, PageID.2. Public officials “reside” in the county where
they perform their official duties. See O'Neill v. Battisti, 33 Ohio Misc. 137, 472 F.
2d 789, 791 (6th Cir. 1972). When a plaintiff’s claims may require testimony or
files that can be most easily obtained at or near the plaintiff’s prison, “the district in
which the institution is located will ordinarily be the more convenient forum.” See
Joyner v. District of Columbia, 267 F. Supp. 2d 15, 20–21 (D.D.C. 2003) (quoting
Starnes v. McGuire, 512 F. 2d 918, 931 (D.C. Cir.1974)).
Venue for Mr. Mitchell’s lawsuit is not proper in the Eastern District of
Michigan because he has not alleged that any of the acts, events, or omissions which
form the basis of his lawsuit took place in this district. See Miles v. WTMX Radio,
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15 F. App’x. 213, 215 (6th Cir. 2001). The Court concludes that proper venue in
this § 1983 lawsuit lies in the Western District of Virginia, where Mr. Mitchell
alleges that the civil rights violations occurred. Accordingly, this matter will be
transferred to that district for further proceedings.
III. CONCLUSION
Accordingly, the Court ORDERS the Clerk of the Court to transfer this case
to the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia pursuant to
28 U.S.C. § 1404(a).
IT IS SO ORDERED.
/s/ Gershwin A. Drain
GERSHWIN A. DRAIN
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
Dated: October 27, 2021
CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE
Copies of this Order were served upon attorneys of record on
October 27, 2021, by electronic and/or ordinary mail.
/s/ Teresa McGovern
Case Manager
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