Sandell v. Morrison

Filing 3

ORDER: Plaintiff's application to proceed in forma pauperis 2 is GRANTED. The plaintiff is hereby ASSESSED the civil filing fee of $350.00. In this case, the defendant resides in or around Morgan County. The plaintiff's claim arose at a penal facility in Morgan County. Since Morgan County lies within the Eastern District of Tennessee, 28 U.S.C. § 123(a)(1), venue for this action properly belongs in that judicial district. Accordingly, the Clerk is directed to TRANSFER thi s case to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee, Northern Division at Knoxville, Tennessee. Signed by District Judge Todd J. Campbell on 10/16/13. (xc:Pro se party by regular and certified mail. Warden of RMSI by regular mail.)(DOCKET TEXT SUMMARY ONLY-ATTORNEYS MUST OPEN THE PDF AND READ THE ORDER.)(dt)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
MIDDLE DISTRICT OF TENNESSEE
NASHVILLE DIVISION

ALVIN SANDELL
Plaintiff,
v.
OFFICER MORRISON
Defendant.

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No. 3:13-1124
Judge Campbell

ORDER

The Court is in receipt of a pro se prisoner complaint (Docket Entry No. 1) under 42 U.S.C.
§ 1983 and an application to proceed in forma pauperis (Docket Entry No. 2).
The plaintiff is an inmate at the Riverbend Maximum Security Institution in Nashville. It
appears from his application that he lacks sufficient financial resources from which to pay the fee
required to file the complaint. Therefore, the plaintiff’s application to proceed in forma pauperis is
hereby GRANTED. 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a). However, process shall not issue at this time.
The plaintiff is hereby ASSESSED the civil filing fee of $350.00. Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §
1915(b)(1)(A) and (B), the custodian of the plaintiff's inmate trust account at the institution where
he now resides is directed to submit to the Clerk of Court, as an initial partial payment, whichever
is greater of:
(a) twenty percent (20%) of the average monthly deposits to the plaintiff's inmate trust
account; or
(b) twenty percent (20%) of the average monthly balance in the plaintiff's inmate trust
account for the prior six (6) months.

Thereafter, the custodian shall submit twenty percent (20%) of the plaintiff's preceding
monthly income (or income credited to the plaintiff's trust account for the preceding month), but
only when such monthly income exceeds ten dollars ($10.00), until the full filing fee of three
hundred fifty dollars ($350.00) as authorized under 28 U.S.C. § 1914(a) has been paid to the Clerk
of Court. 28 U.S.C. § 1915(b)(2).
The plaintiff brings this action against Officer Morrison, a member of the staff at the
“Morgan County Prison Institution”, alleging that the defendant assaulted him without provocation
in violation of his constitutional rights.
Venue for a civil rights action is governed by 28 U.S.C. § 1391(b). That provision requires
that an action, such as the instant case, be brought only in (1) a judicial district where any defendant
resides, if all defendants reside in the same state, (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 the property that
is the subject of the action is situated, or (3) a judicial district in which the defendants are subject
to personal jurisdiction at the time that the action is commenced, if there is no district in which the
action may otherwise be brought.
In this case, the defendant resides in or around Morgan County. The plaintiff's claim arose
at a penal facility in Morgan County. Since Morgan County lies within the Eastern District of
Tennessee, 28 U.S.C. § 123(a)(1), venue for this action properly belongs in that judicial district.
Accordingly, the Clerk is directed to TRANSFER this case to the United States District
Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee, Northern Division at Knoxville, Tennessee. 28 U.S.C.
§ 1406(a). The Clerk is further instructed to send a copy of this order to the Warden of the
Riverbend Maximum Security Institution to ensure that the custodian of the plaintiff's inmate trust
account complies with that portion of the Prison Litigation Reform Act relating to the payment of

the filing fee.
It is so ORDERED.

____________________________
Todd Campbell
United States District Judge