Brown v. City of Shamokin Police Department

Filing 3

TRANSFER ORDER: The Clerk of Court is directed to transfer this action to the United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania. Whether Plaintiff should be permitted to proceed further without prepayment of fees is a determination to be made by the transferee court. A summons will not issue from this court. This order closes this case in this court. The Court certifies, pursuant to 28 U.S.C 1915(a)(3), that any appeal from this order would not be taken in good faith, and therefore in forma pauperis status is denied for the purpose of an appeal. See Coppedge v. United States, 369 U.S. 438, 444-45 (1962). The Clerk of Court is directed to mail a copy of this order to Plaintiff and note service on the docket. (Signed by Judge Laura Taylor Swain on 11/16/2021) (sac) Transmission to Docket Assistant Clerk for processing. Transmission to Office of the Clerk of Court for processing.

Case 1:21-cv-08821-LTS Document 3 Filed 11/16/21 Page 1 of 2

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK
CAROL BROWN,
Plaintiff,
21-CV-8821 (LTS)

-against-

TRANSFER ORDER

CITY OF SHAMOKIN POLICE
DEPARTMENT,
Defendant.

LAURA TAYLOR SWAIN, Chief United States District Judge:
Plaintiff, who resides in New York, New York, brings this pro se action alleging that
officers from the City of Shamokin Police Department (SPD) violated her rights in Shamokin,
Pennsylvania. She names the SPD as the sole defendant. The SPD is located in Northumberland
County, Pennsylvania. For the following reasons, the Court transfers this action to the United
States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania.
CONCLUSION
Under 28 U.S.C. § 1391(b), 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.
Under § 1391(c), an “entity with the capacity to sue and be sued,” if a defendant, resides in any
judicial district where it is subject to personal jurisdiction with respect to the civil action in
question. See 28 U.S.C. § 1391(c)(1), (2).
Plaintiff, who previously resided in Shamokin, Pennsylvania, alleges that SPD officers
failed to respond to “a neighbor issue.” (ECF 2, at 5.) Plaintiff’s neighbor, however, called the

Case 1:21-cv-08821-LTS Document 3 Filed 11/16/21 Page 2 of 2

police and “the[y] came to [Plaintiff’s] porch (at the time) took [her] radio and told [her] to get in
the house.” (Id.) Plaintiff also alleges that “they … harass in town and on [her] block.” (Id.)
Because the SPD does not reside in this district and a substantial part of the events or
omissions giving rise to Plaintiff’s claims arose outside this district, venue is not proper in this
court under Section 1391(b)(1) or (2). Plaintiff’s claims arose in Shamokin, Pennsylvania, which
is in the Middle District of Pennsylvania. See 28 U.S.C. § 118(b). Accordingly, venue lies in the
Middle District of Pennsylvania, 28 U.S.C. § 1391(b)(1), (2), and the Court transfers this action
to the United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, 28 U.S.C. § 1406(a).
CONCLUSION
The Clerk of Court is directed to transfer this action to the United States District Court
for the Middle District of Pennsylvania. Whether Plaintiff should be permitted to proceed further
without prepayment of fees is a determination to be made by the transferee court. A summons
will not issue from this court. This order closes this case in this court.
The Court certifies, pursuant to 28 U.S.C § 1915(a)(3), that any appeal from this order
would not be taken in good faith, and therefore in forma pauperis status is denied for the purpose
of an appeal. See Coppedge v. United States, 369 U.S. 438, 444-45 (1962).
The Clerk of Court is directed to mail a copy of this order to Plaintiff and note service on
the docket.
SO ORDERED.
Dated:

November 16, 2021
New York, New York
/s/ Laura Taylor Swain
LAURA TAYLOR SWAIN
Chief United States District Judge

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