Sifford v. Drew et al

Filing 3

ORDER Plaintiffs action is transferred to the District of South Carolina.. Signed by Chief Judge Frank D. Whitney on 11/28/17. (Pro se litigant served by US Mail.)(clc)[Transferred from North Carolina Western on 11/29/2017.]

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
WESTERN DISTRICT OF NORTH CAROLINA
CHARLOTTE DIVISION
3:17-cv-668-FDW
TYRONE SIFFORD,

)
)
Plaintiff,
)
)
vs.
)
)
DARLENE DREW,
)
Warden, FCI Bennettsville, et al.,
)
)
Defendants.
)
__________________________________________)

ORDER

THIS MATTER is before the Court on initial review of Plaintiff’s Complaint, (Doc. No.
1).
I.

BACKGROUND

In this action filed on November 16, 2017, pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983, pro se Plaintiff
Tyrone Sifford alleges that he is a resident of Charlotte, North Carolina, and that he is currently a
federal inmate on home confinement under the custody, care, and control of the Federal Bureau
of Prisons. Plaintiff filed this action against various individuals employed at all relevant times at
the Federal Correctional Institution located in Bennettsville, South Carolina. Plaintiff purports to
bring a claim for deliberate indifference to serious medical needs against the individual
Defendants arising out of medical treatment he received while he was incarcerated at FCI
Bennettsville.
II.

DISCUSSION

Because the individual Defendants are federal employees, Plaintiff is bringing his claim
as a Bivens action. Chiang v. Lappin, Civil Action No. RDB-07-1017, 2008 WL 2945434, at *5
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(D. Md. July 24, 2008) (“Because Plaintiff has brought his suit against federal officials, however,
it is well established that he must pursue his claims under Bivens”). In a Bivens claim, venue is
established by 28 U.S.C. § 1391(b). Simpson v. Fed. Bureau of Prisons, 496 F. Supp. 2d 187,
193 (D.D.C. 2007). 28 U.S.C. § 1391(b) provides: (b) A civil action may be brought in: (1) a
judicial district where 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. Therefore, under Section 1391, Plaintiff’s Bivens action
may be heard in a venue where all the defendants reside, or in the venue where the issue
substantially arose, which is the District of South Carolina. The Court will therefore transfer this
action to the District of South Carolina.
III.

CONCLUSION

For the reasons stated herein, the Court transfers this action to the District of South
Carolina.
IT IS, THEREFORE, ORDERED that:
1. Plaintiff’s action is transferred to the District of South Carolina.
2. The Clerk is instructed to terminate this action.
Signed: November 28, 2017

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